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finn-m-corvex · 11 months

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Whumptober 2023 Day 5 - Pinned Down

Day 5! And this one is MOVIEVERSE! I REPEAT: MOVIEVERSE! I wanted a bit of a challenge so a few of these are going to be set within the movie! Also movie!Jay is an absolute bean but he swears like a sailor and I will die on this hill.

@splinnters fifth tag! You better be asleep by now good sir

Words: 2.2k

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Garmadon wasn’t supposed to strike during the middle of the school day, his plane wasn’t supposed to get shot down out of the sky, and he was not supposed to crash it directly into a building that was already crumbling from the attack. Jay had tried to hit the eject button only for it to fail, so he had no other choice than to sit tight and hope that the impact didn’t kill him.

It didn’t, but Jay could still feel the whiplash that hit his neck as his head slammed against the console, his helmet the only thing saving him from certain doom. He had been knocked out almost instantly, and when he finally came around there were voices screaming at him over the still-functioning radio and blood trickling down from his forehead.

“Jay!” Cole yelled, and Jay could hear the sounds of missiles detonating over the comms. “What the hell happened?!”

He must’ve been talking for some time, so Jay fumbled to press the button and activate his mic. “Cole? I’m here.”

‘Oh thank the First Master,” Lloyd sighed, and Jay winced from his volume. His mask must’ve gotten shoved up closer to his mouth. “Did anyone see where he went down?”

“He is near the corner of Main and Fourth,” Zane chimed in, and Jay’s heart started sinking. Nobody was patrolling in that direction, which meant that there was no one nearby and they were all still fighting a battle. He was on his own.

Which immediately posed a problem when he tried to move his leg.

A short scream escaped his lips when he tried to pull his leg out, and Jay felt the tears sting at the corners of his eyes. Glancing down, the sight of mangled metal buried in his leg almost made him sick. White-hot pain shot up his thigh from his calf, and Jay bit down on his hand to keep from screaming again as his head hit the back of his seat.

He was trapped.

The others must’ve heard him, because Nya was hurriedly clicking onto the channel. “What the hell was that?”

“I’m stuck,” Jay said, “m-my leg’s pinned. I can’t get it out.”

“How stuck?” Kai asked, and Jay heard the screeching of metal on metal through the comms before Kai’s flamethrower ignited, the whoosh familiar as well as the yells of whoever Kai was fighting against.

Jay really did not want to look at it again, but he did have to assess the injury. His leg was burning with pain, his nerves alight with the sensation as he leaned down to try and get a better look at what had happened. Of course, it looked like one of the pylons had gone straight through his leg; not enough to take it off, but definitely enough to pin him in place and start to cause problems.

Why was he so calm about almost having his leg forcibly amputated?

“It’s gone through my leg,” Jay said lightly, his voice betrayed absolutely none of his inner turmoil, “so I can’t move. I also can’t remove it because I don’t know what’ll happen or if it’s structurally sound.”

Silence rang over the comms, and Jay waited patiently for his team to respond. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere. “Buddy, are you okay?” Cole asked hesitantly.

“Oh yes, Cole, I’m just peachy! I’m stuck in this stupid fucking cockpit and there’s a metal rod stuck in my leg and I dunno how to fix it and there’s enemies everywhere and you guys are across the city and I’m going to flip my shit because what if I lose my fucking leg?!” and there it was. Everything was falling apart around him, literally and metaphorically, and Jay’s vision started to tunnel as he struggled to take a deep breath. He wanted to pull his knees up into his chest and bury his face in them, but any movement of his leg only brought more tears to his eyes.

“Breathe,” Nya tried to say, but Jay only took a harsh inhale through his nose in panic-fuelled rage.

“My jet is fucked! My leg is fucked! I’M fucked!” Jay yelled. “So what do you mean ‘breathe’?!”

“It’s not going to get better if you keep panicking, so I need you to calm down,” Nya said soothingly; the others stayed quiet, trusting her to take control of the situation. “I’m on my way, okay? Just hang tight, we’ll get you out of there.”

He couldn’t calm down. The rod shifted, making him see stars as his head knocked against the side of the cockpit. All it took was one sob to open the floodgates, and suddenly he couldn’t stop. “I’m scared, Nya, I’m scared and it hurts and I don’t know what to do-”

“I know,” Nya said, “I know, that’s why I need you to breathe for me, Jay. In for three, hold for four, out for seven, can you do that for me?”

“Yeah,” and Jay tried, he really did, but the sight of Garmadon’s forces flying high over his head, twisting and turning through the air as they made a beeline for where the others were already fighting, drowned out any common sense that may have stuck around at the beginning of his panic attack.

If they saw him, he was as good as dead.

And they were getting pretty damn close.

“Fuck!” Jay cursed, pushing hard at his shattered windshield. “Come on, come on!”

“What happened?” Lloyd asked, alarmed. Jay kept banging at the windshield, ignoring the shards of glass cutting through his gloves and the pain radiating from his wrists.

“Garmadon’s army is coming!” he said, and he could hear the sharp intake of breath from the rest of the group. “I’m pinned down, and I can’t get out!”

“Cole, Nya, get to him now,” Lloyd ordered, and Jay felt his heart lift when he saw the green ninja’s mech shoot across the sky, already tearing through the hordes of planes flying through the city. “Kai and Zane, we’re running defense. Don’t let them get close until Jay is clear.”

“On it, boss,” Kai said, and Zane confirmed as well. Cole grunted, and Nya was silent, but Jay knew that she was just thinking of a way to get him out of here. Probably. Hopefully.

There had to be something he could do. His brain was racing a mile a minute as he looked around the cockpit for anything that he could use to pry open the canopy, or even something to help him start to free his leg. Adrenaline poured through his veins, dulling any pain radiating from the wound and making him shake with repressed stims. Finally he tore off a control panel on the side, steadying his hands long enough to start fiddling with the wires. Maybe he could get his jet’s cloaking ability to start working; that would buy him some time until Nya got there.

It only took a minute for the wires to start sparking, small arcs racing up his fingers and Jay quickly dropped said wires, but the damage was already done. The tips of his fingers were slightly singed, as Cole would so gracefully put it, and Jay quickly put them into his mouth one by one to soothe the burns. Hopefully someone was still on the line, he thought as he pressed the button to open the comm channel, his finger throbbing in protest.

“Uh, team?” Jay said, flinching when one of the planes flew a little too close for his liking, “I can’t activate the cloaking thing and I think I burnt my fingers.”

“Seriously?” Cole said angrily, and Jay’s heart dropped at his tone. “Don’t worry, Jay, Nya and I are almost there?”

“Can you turn your ‘almost here’ into actually being here, please?”

“Working on it, Blue,” Nya grunted, and Jay could hear the sounds of crabs hitting her windshield with dull thunks. “Hang in there, you’re doing great. How’s that injury looking?”

“Let me check,” Jay leaned down to look again and nearly lost his lunch for the fourth time since he had gotten stuck in this predicament. Nothing had changed, but it suddenly looked a lot more red than it did before. His boot squelched on the floorplates, and something was soaking into it and through his socks. Dizzy, Jay realized that he was sole-deep in a puddle of crimson red, of his own blood.

That…wasn’t very comforting. “There’s a lot of blood.”

“How much blood?” Nya asked.

Jay swallowed thickly, pressing the back of his head to his seat and shutting his eyes. “T-There’s a puddle, and it’s soaking into my shoes.”

An explosion, and Nya’s voice came over the speakers again. “These guys are not making it easy. Is there any way that you can staunch it? Or pull the thing out?”

It warmed his heart that in literally any other situation Nya would be flipping her shit, but she was keeping her cool; Jay liked to think that it was because of him rather than anything else. “I can’t move it. The pylon is attached to the main engine and I’m not nearly strong enough. Plus, this thing is already falling apart; I don’t know what’ll happen if I move too much.”

Case in point, the loud whine of falling metal as a section collapsed behind him, making Jay jump in surprise and stare with wide eyes. “You guys might wanna hurry, I don’t know how much longer this is going to stay up!”

“Going as fast as we can,” Cole assured, and Jay could tell that his best friend was starting to grow frustrated with the situation. He slumped in his chair, trying in vain to keep his anxiety at bay as the planes flew closer and closer. Rationally, he knew that Cole wasn’t mad at him, per se, but it sure as hell felt like it. Honestly, It was a miracle that he hadn’t been spotted yet.

He should’ve never thought about it.

Screaming through the air as they descended, Jay watched as the planes focused on his location with a plummeting heart. Their crab cannons swiveled to face him, and Jay was suddenly very aware of just how cracked his canopy was and the fragility of the cockpit protecting him. It wouldn’t last for very long at all.

“Lloyd!” he yelled, throwing his arms up and over his head as the crabs started raining down on top of him. “I’m in trouble here!”

“On my way!” and Jay saw the green dragon mech zigzag across the sky, tearing through the planes with its mechanical claws and firing missle after missle. “Guys, does anyone have eyes on Garmadon? I can’t see him from here.”

“I do,” Kai ground out, and Jay could tell that the fire ninja was not happy. “He’s on the south side, I’m gonna need all hands on deck to take care of him. He’s got a new barracuda mech? I think?”

“Zane, get to Kai,” Lloyd said, and for First Master’s sake they had to stop sending Jay on these emotional rollercoastsers. He could not function under these conditions! “I’m right behind you.”

“Wait!” Jay exclaimed, because even though there may have been no more planes attacking, there were definitely people on the ground that would be trying to make their way towards him. For the first time he noticed that his weapon was gone; it must’ve gotten lost as he went down. “I don’t have anything to defend myself with, you know! They find me up here and I’m fucked!”

“You’re fucked anyway if we don’t defeat Garmadon,” Kai said harshly, and Jay flinched even though no one could see him. “Cole and Nya are almost there.”

“About that,” Cole said, and for the sake of the First Master could they please stop delivering bad news?! “I’m a bit stuck too.”

“Stuck? How are you stuck?” Nya asked, concerned. “Do I need to go back-”

“No, get to Jay,” Cole insisted, flicking a few switches near the mic and slapping a new record into his turntable. “I can handle it. I’m with you, girl, so lead the way.”

Jay knew that above all else, he trusted his best friend with his life; if he said he was with someone, Cole was going with them. Sighing in relief, the adrenaline finally started to fizzle out, and Jay sobbed as the pain started to set in again. It was blinding; the pool of blood had risen to his ankle and Jay was starting to feel the effects. Woozy, he tried to open up the comm channel, forgetting that he never closed it.

“Please hurry,” he slurred, and the fire racing up his leg made him yelp in pain. Vision blurred with tears, Jay let his head rest against his seat again, shutting his eyes and hoping that the world would stop spinning.

Until a shadow was finally cast over him. He cracked his eyes open, smiling at the sight of the battered water strider mech, the love of his life (even if she didn’t know it yet) giving him the world’s brightest grin as she grabbed her spear and saluted him. “You called, Blue?”

“I did,” he said softly, a chuckle bubbling out of him despite the grimness of his situation, “and they couldn’t have gotten anyone more gorgeous to answer it.”

Later, he would blame the flirting on the blood loss, but only he knew how much of a lie that really was.

#whumptober 2023 #finn's writing #ninjago jay #ninjago fanfiction #lego ninjago #ninjago cole #ninjago whumptober #whumptober day 5 #the lego ninjago movie #ninjago kai #ninjago nya #ninjago zane #ninjago lloyd

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goldenavenger02 · 9 months

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your shoulders are strained (from holding up the world)

Cole didn’t even have to ask Lloyd if he wanted a hug before he was all but tackled by the green ninja and the sobs started as he curled up close to him; Cole pulled him in tighter with one arm and let his other hand go to his blonde curls as tears soaked through his gi.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, I’m here…” Cole trailed off as Lloyd’s sobs grew louder against him and a brief image of an older then he should have been Lloyd curled up on his lap flashed in his mind, “it’s alright, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

(Shoutout to @the-painted-siren for telling me to wrap Lloyd up in a blanket. You helped me indirectly figure out how to end this one)

“And be careful when you hit the desert, there’s always a bit of a harsh wind when you get past the junkyard-”

“Cole,” Vania interrupted him while reaching up to put her hands on his tense shoulders, “Chompy and I rode in here in the midst of an invasion from the embodiment of evil itself, I think we can handle a little wind.”

“I know you can,” Cole agreed, pulling the princess into a hug, “I just want you to be-”

“Safe? I will be,” Vania insisted as she pulled away but not before she gently squeezed his tense shoulder, “but I’ll send a letter as soon as we get back to Shintaro. Promise.”

“Okay.” Cole smiled, which was seemingly a strong enough signal for the princess to climb aboard her dragon, but before they flew away, Plunder spoke up from where he was balanced next to Adam.

“Oh, by the way, one of your friends went down the mountain this morning as I was packing up. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Do you know which one?” Cole’s heart dropped at the idea of losing someone just as soon as they had finally reunited. ‘Kai and Jay could still be coping with what happened to Nya, Zane could have turned off his emotions again, Nya’s powers still aren’t at full strength yet-’

“Korgran saw him too, and so did his ax that doesn’t talk,” Korgan’s rough voice piped up, “the one that wears green. Floyd, maybe? Or is it Dyoll?...”

‘Oh, First Master, there’s no telling where Lloyd would have gone or what is going through his head.’

“Thank you, I’m gonna go find him now,” Despite him not wanting them to leave so soon, Cole now had much more urgent things swirling through his head, “have a safe flight, guys.”

He didn’t even see Chompy lift off before he was running down the steps and hoping to see the dark green that didn’t blend in with the plants beginning to grow around the monastery despite the catastrophic explosion.

‘He could be upset about Harumi, his dad, the Overlord…and he told Nya and I that he wasn’t hurt enough for a hospital, but he was still captured for days…’ Cole thought as he quickly scanned every single tree for the familiar jade color of Lloyd’s gi, ‘he wouldn’t lie to both of us…he’s smart enough not to do that now.’

“Come on, Lloyd…” he muttered under his breath, “come on, where are you?”

But despite his pleading, he still couldn’t see any sign of the blonde teenager which only continued to push panic to the forefront of his mind.

‘Maybe he went into town, or maybe he went back to bed,’ Cole considered as he neared the base of the mountain, only to stop when he saw the familiar sight of Lloyd sitting next to the cherry blossom next to the final cliff before the solid ground attached itself to the steps, his legs dangling on the edge and his chin propped up in his hands.

‘Thank the master.’

Cole knew he had to approach carefully when yelling or even just sneaking up on Lloyd could freak him out and send him off the side of the cliff, but he also didn’t want to cause any more emotional distress to whatever Lloyd was feeling.

“Lloyd?” Cole finally spoke up as he kneeled beside Lloyd, keeping his voice steady even when the teenager barely reacted at the sound of his voice, “Plundar and Korgran saw you leave earlier.”

All he did was shrug in response, worrying Cole that Lloyd still wasn’t actually speaking to him.

“I guess that I just wanted to make sure you were okay, since the last few weeks, well…the last year or so, have been really rough on all of us, but especially you,” Cole stopped to breathe and gauge Lloyd’s lack of a reaction, “and I’m not gonna make you talk about it, but I, all of us, we just want you to be okay.”

It seemed as though letting Lloyd know that he could stay quiet, that he wasn’t going to try and pry further than he needed to, was all that he needed for him to finally meet his brown eyes only for Cole to see nothing but tears in the green ones he had grown so used to.

Cold didn’t even have to ask Lloyd if he wanted a hug before he was all but tackled by the green ninja and the sobs started as he curled up close to him; Cole pulled him in tighter with one arm and let his other hand go to his blonde curls as tears soaked through his gi.

He couldn’t do anything but let the teenager cry all over his golden armor; he didn’t want to move him or make him cry harder and he didn’t want to say anything that would have piled on the stress of whatever he was feeling.

All Cole could do was hold onto him as tight as he could and comfort him as he always had in the past.

When Lloyd wanted to talk, he would go to Kai, Master Wu or Nya. When he wanted a distraction, he would end up playing video games with Jay or helping P.I.X.A.L with her latest project along with Zane, but if he was just looking for a hug, he’d go to Cole.

Not that Cole could be upset with that, it wasn’t like Lloyd was the only one who ever wanted one of his hugs; in fact, it seemed as though everyone on the team except for Jay and Nya would seek him out particularly for what had been unceremoniously dubbed by Kai as the “weighted blanket effect”.

And sure enough, as Lloyd’s sobs began to slow with sniffling and a couple of hiccups, there was an occasional yawn mixed in and the thought of ‘how much has Lloyd been sleeping?’ briefly crossed his mind.

“Alright, Green Machine,” Cole finally spoke up, gently moving his hand to Lloyd’s hip in order to nudge him off of his rapidly growing numb legs, “let’s get you in bed.”

But as he gently pushed him towards the soft grass, he heard the sound that he had briefly considered but was still dreading, which was Lloyd’s all too familiar sharp inhale of breath that meant that he was injured.

“Lloyd?” Cole struggled to keep his voice steady as he stood up because while Lloyd had been aged up older then he was supposed to be, he knew better than to keep injuries from the rest of them, especially when he had been explicitly asked about it, “I thought you told Nya and I that you weren’t hurt.”

“No…” Lloyd finally spoke with a wince as he pulled himself to his feet, his left hand hovering over his right side, “I said that I wasn’t hurt enough that I needed to go to the hospital.”

“You, will be the death of me and Kai’s brown hair,” Cole sighed as he ran a hand over his tired face before grasping his hand around Lloyd’s wrist, “come on, let’s go find Zane-”

“Don’t tell Kai!” Lloyd shouted as he pulled back against Cole’s grip, “please, I don’t want him to…I already scared him enough.”

“Fine, fine, I won’t tell Kai,” Cole insisted, hoping that his assurance was enough to stop the resistance on his grip, “okay? I won’t tell anyone but Zane, because he’s gonna help me patch you up and maybe P.I.X.A.L, but that’s it.”

“You promise?” Lloyd demanded, his heels still planted firmly in the ground in a mix of defiance and regret.

“I promise.”

And with that, the two started their ascent up the mountain with Cole’s hand still around Lloyd’s wrist in case he decided to go back to his tendency to bolt at the first chance he got.

He couldn’t help but notice that Lloyd had grown quiet again after he had given up on fighting against getting patched up; it wasn’t as concerning as if someone like Jay had stopped talking, but something about how silent the teenager stayed was still worrying.

Luckily, it didn’t take long to get to the makeshift medical wing that had been constructed after the adrenaline of unlocking his Dragon Form had worn off and he could feel the concussion that had nearly gotten him and Kai caught by Pythor.

He maneuvered Lloyd onto one of the cots by the arm with a “stay awake” when he laid down before pulling his hood over his head and clicking the side of his comm set, “hey, Zane?”

“Yes, Cole?”

“Can you meet me in the medical wing? The makeshift one, across from the hangar bay.” He asked while gently flicking Lloyd’s arm to get him to open his eyes again, which he got in the form of a glare.

“Is it your concussion again?”

“No, I’m fine, it’s just…” he trailed off, remembering Lloyd’s defiance at the thought of Kai knowing that he was hurt, “I just need your help with something.”

“Very well, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Thanks, Zane.” Cole said as he pulled his hood off before flicking Lloyd’s arm again to be met with a glare, “I said stay awake for a reason, you could have a concussion.”

“Mean,” Lloyd scowled, “I don’t have a concussion.”

“Well, if you had been honest with Nya and I, I’d believe you,” Cole snapped back before forcing himself to calm down as soon as he saw Lloyd’s tired green eyes, “sorry, that was uncalled for.”

“It’s fine,” Lloyd mumbled while blinking to keep his eyes open, “kinda used to it.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

“Kai gets angry when he’s stressed, and I…” Lloyd stopped to try and stop the incoming yawn with little success, “I tend to stress him out a lot, about this kind of stuff.”

“You’re pretty good at stressing all of us out about this kind of stuff.” Cole corrected as the sound of footsteps began to grow louder towards them which finally pried his vision away from Lloyd to see Zane.

“Ah, I see,” Zane spoke before Cole had a chance to explain his previous distress call and started to dig through the cardboard box of medical equipment that had been salvaged or replaced, “is it the head wound again or something else?”

“Head wound? Lloyd-”

“It’s my side, where the Overlord got me.”

“The Overlord? How-”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve asked Zane to patch me up this week.”

“And if he keeps it up, it won’t be the last,” Zane added as he stood up and put the various medical supplies on the metal cart before gesturing to Lloyd’s gi, “that needs to come off.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lloyd muttered, his eyes scrunching up with a wince as his hands went to the tie, “Cole? You don’t have to stay, I know this kinda thing freaks you out.”

And it did; the smell of antiseptic was enough to make Cole feel like he was twelve again and watching as his mother became bedridden at home when she wasn’t in the hospital but, he also knew that he would feel guilty if he left Lloyd like this even if it was in Zane’s capable hands.

“Cole, I’m serious,” Lloyd insisted as he let the jade green gi fall to the floor, “patient knows best, right?”

“No, that would be customer knows best,” Zane insisted from where he was washing his hands, “and given how many times I’ve cleaned your wounds, I will assume that you do not know best-”

“This isn’t about me! Okay, it is, but that’s not,” Lloyd stopped speaking to let out a frustrated breath, “Cole, just…you look kinda sick.”

“Fine,” Cole swallowed back his guilt so the claustrophobic trauma would eb away, “fine, I’ll head out. But I am running your laundry while you're here.”

And he did exactly that after walking out of the hangar bay; in fact, he also made sure to start running a load of dishes in their recently-installed dishwasher before Jay had the chance to dismantle it and tidy up the floor of Lloyd’s bedroom, not that he had been given the chance to dirty it up very much.

But doing household chores kept him focused on the task rather than what he was avoiding, which had been a perk back when he was a young teenager as well as right now when even dirty dishes were better than thinking of his pseudo brother in pain.

And by the time he finished tucking the worn, green quilt over the edge of the mattress, Lloyd was sitting down on the bed while putting down a white pill bottle on the nightstand, the label long since faded.

“What is that?”

“Tylenol. Because when you get a stun gun to the head, fall into a river from five hundred feet up and get electrocuted multiple times by the physical embodiment of evil, the strongest drug you can have is,” he stopped to shake the pill bottle for emphasis, “Tylenol.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“The drugs?” Lloyd raised a confused eyebrow as he reclined onto the pillows at the head of his bed.

“No, what upset you earlier,” Cole said, watching as any signs of joking were wiped off of his face, “I’m not gonna make you, but-”

“I’m fine, I just…” Lloyd trailed off, looking down at his palms, “dad stuff, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Cole said, running his hand over the upper half of his arm, “my dad and I are a lot better now, but…well, I was a few years younger then you are now when everything kinda fell apart.”

“I just…I want to forgive him, but then I remember everything he’s done and it’s…” Cole could hear the sniffles starting to build up into sobs but for whatever reason, Lloyd kept the tears in this time, “I don’t know, I’m probably just too tired.”

“Do you remember the last time you slept all night?”

He stayed quiet as Cole stood up to reach into the bottom drawer of his dresser where Lloyd tended to keep all of the clothes he stole from the others; sure enough, he was met with multiple pairs of Jay’s sweatpants

‘That’s a lot of Jay’s pants.’ Cole thought to himself as he pushed past Nya’s massive red hoodie that had been passed down from both Kai and her dad to reveal his target.

The orange blanket he had taken with him when he had been sent to the Marty Openhiemer, with black embroidered mountains on the corners; his mother had started making it when she first got sick, but Cole had finished it after he had run away.

But after everything that happened in Shintaro, he found himself being able to part with it and had offered it to Lloyd.

He knew that Lloyd had run away from Darkley’s with nothing but the clothes on his back and that he had nothing to his name; even as the troublesome boy aged into a well-meaning young adult, he still didn’t have many personal belongings but Cole had so many.

He had a feeling that his mom would have understood that, if she…no matter how many years continued to pass, thinking about her if she was still around made his heart sink.

“I mean, I guess it was after we returned from The Island.”

“FSM, Lloyd,” Cole sighed as he coaxed him to lay down fully so he could drape the blanket over his bruised shoulders, “I know it’s been hard, but for the love of me not getting my ass kicked by your uncle, go to sleep.”

“He won’t do that, he doesn’t even try to make us go to bed any more.”

“Touche,” Cole chuckled before walking over to the light switch, but unable to bring his hand down over it until he asked, “lights on or off?”

“Off is fine.”

“Okay,” Cole nodded before engulfing the room in darkness, “do you need me to stay?”

“Nah, just…” he heard the boy swallow nervously before adding, “leave the door open? Just a crack?”

“No sweat. Get some rest, Lloyd.”

And with that, Cole walked out of the room while leaving the door open enough to let a steady stream of light hit the floor, but he didn’t have the chance to even take a full breath, to let himself calm down from the hectic morning when he heard Jay’s yell echo throughout the half-finished walls.

“Where are my sweatpants?!”

#ninjago #angst #my writing #fic #lego ninjago #whump #cole (ninjago)#lloyd garmadon #ninjago zane #princess vania #ninjago crystalized #fluff #hurt/comfort #team as family #Cole & Lloyd friendship duo has overtaken my life

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angeldrawsstuffs · 2 months

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Well, the people have spoken…

Here ya go 😉

—

The others don’t exactly mention it for their friends’ sakes, Jay’s especially with what he’s been through because of all this, but everyone kinda… tries to avoid looking Kai, Jay, and Nya directly in the face.

Now, they’re all aware these are the same friends they’ve known for years now…

But all three just look so… uncanny in the toy bodies the story curse gave them. It’s honestly pretty disturbing how they all resemble their human selves, but they’re so obviously… not.

Their eyes don’t blink, they can’t. They’re so… shiny and glassy, no pupil dilation or contraction or even so much as a faux blood vessel in sight. Any visible “skin” is just… too perfect. Red cheeks aside, there aren’t any blemishes or pores, any scars (with the exception of the one on Kai’s eye) are gone. It looks so… polished and fake, like it was crafted meticulously by hand.

Their hair too. While Nya still has individual strands, it still looks, again, too perfect. Not even a strand ever falls out of place, even in the heat of battle. Kai and Jay aren’t so lucky in that department, as, for them, it’s all one molded/carved piece. It doesn’t even move or do anything. It’s far too shiny to be mistaken for real hair, even at a glance.

Not to mention that, at least Nya has the benefit of actual fabric clothing, Kai and Jay on the other hand- well, it just adds to the uncanny feeling. It feels like there should be folds and dimension and other such things you see on a person’s clothes, but there’s not.

Even their movement adds to all this, Kai and Nya have full articulation, yes, but to every move either of them make, there still a certain… stiffness to it. Like a an amateur stop-motion animation almost. If you listen closely, it’s accompanied with the creaking of wood and metal springs, or even the odd clink, like teacups, respectively.

Now Jay… well, Jay’s is the most obvious in this category. He doesn’t even walk, it’s a marching-like movement, a consequence of having no joints aside from his ankles in his legs. Each step is accompanied with the unmistakable ticking of a wind-up mechanism, a constant reminder of the fact his time is always limited. Even when he’s not walking, his whole body is just… oddly still, like a solider standing at attention, something especially disturbing from Jay specifically. Hell, one of his hands doesn’t even move, the other acting like a mitten almost with the fingers (save for the thumb) molded together, only really good for drawing his sword to utilize in a fight.

Overall? It’s super fucking weird the everyone else has a hard time holding their tongues about it out of respect for their friends sometimes. Some have a better verbal filter than others, but they just hope none of the three toys notice them looking just about anywhere else while talking to them.

Ha. If only they remembered how observant Jay can be sometimes.

#ninjago #ninjago masters of spinjitzu #ninjago au #spbnr aus #tlnm nutcracker au #jay walker #jay ninjago #ninjago jay #kai smith #kai jiang #kai ninjago #ninjago kai #nya smith #nya jiang #nya ninjago #ninjago nya #tw uncanny

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misfortuneskeep · 11 months

Text

landlock

minor dragons rising spoilers but mostly just headcanon, set before part 1

566 words

The lighthouse still existed after the merge, but it was no longer anywhere near open water. Instead, it rose starkly from a valley, misplaced. Nya found it one day as she wandered, and as recognition flooded her mind, so did a desperate hope.

“Promise me something,” she said a million years ago.

She tore down the hill, through the valley, running faster than she had in years.

“Anything,” he answered.

She ran past skeletons of lanterns that were once carried by a strange current to the shores of the island, and now littered the ground where flowers native to another realm bloomed, their written messages of love long since dissolved.

“If we get separated, we’ll come back here,” she whispered. “Even if something bad happens, I’ll come back, and you’ll wait here for me.”

“Jay!” she screamed at the tower. “Jay!”

“I promise,” he said.

Nya clawed on all fours up the broken and mossy steps, determined not to slip. She flung open the door and it fell off its hinges. A bad sign.

“Hello?” she wheezed, lungs burning, and coughed on the dust in the air. She waved away spiderwebs and looked in the once-hidden room where she’d met the second Zane and now there was nobody.

The hope was dying but she began climbing the wooden stairs anyway. They creaked horribly. Her weight proved too much for one step and it snapped, rotten, and she nearly fell eight feet to the ground, but she caught herself and carried on, keeping a hand on the stone wall.

She knew that he wasn’t there before she pushed open the door to the lookout. She knew she wouldn’t find him as she left footprints in an inch of dust and startled a dozen small birds from nests built where seagulls used to land. When she staggered to the windows, she knew she wouldn’t see the ocean, but the sight of its absence still hurt.

Jay’s paintings were still here, distorted and grimy from years of exposure to nature. She guessed that after he left, nobody had come back to this prison, besides herself, when she was already too late to find him there. With a horrible sense of deja vu, Nya sank to the floor.

Maybe it was her turn to wait here for him.

A bird fluttered back to the rafters. Nya rubbed her eyes until she could identify it, and nearly burst out laughing. It was a bluejay, looking at her with its head tilted. And for some reason that was the trigger that wrenched a terrible wail out of her chest and into the air, scaring off the bluejay, hurting her own ears with the volume and suddenness of it, scraping out of her throat like claws down a tree. She couldn’t look at the paintings all over the room so she leaned out the window like a seasick sailor. The beautiful valley that should not be there did not understand her grief, but there was nobody else to weep to.

When it started getting dark, she made her way back down the tower, unwilling to spend the night here. She left a note in Echo’s old room.

My name is Nya, and I was separated from my family, like just about everyone. I’m still looking for them.

Jay, if you see this, don’t stay here. I promise I’ll find you.

-The Water Ninja

#jaya #ninjago #nya jiang #dragons rising #fic #also posted to ao3 but i thought i should start posting short fics directly to tumblr #for fun

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cocktailsfairytales · 1 year

Text

#CurrentlyReading

Nya can’t remember the last time she felt safe.

The rundown rental house didn’t seem so bad at first. But now, someone is stealing her food. Rattling her bedroom doorknob. Digging through her belongings.

Each night brings more disturbing incidents. And each night, Nya is more convinced that it’s not an intruder. She suspects the culprit is hiding in plain sight: her peculiar roommate-of-necessity, Ash.

Nya can’t afford to live anywhere else. The horrible rental is her only option. In a few months, she’ll finish her final semester of college—and get the hell out of dodge. But to her horror, the sinister mind games are just the beginning. Before long, she’s forced to face the possibility that her physical safety may be at risk. Maybe even her life.

The truth is more terrifying than Nya could have guessed. And as the situation spirals out of control, it’s suddenly clear that surviving the night may no longer be an option.

https://www.bookbub.com/books/room-for-rent-a-gripping-psychological-thriller-by-noelle-w-ihli

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little-lego-ninjas · 2 years

Text

that there ain't no stoppin' your plans and those slow hands:

Hey guys! I decided to write that silly little idea I had for a lava one shot, and it came out really cute, so I decided to share it with you guys <3.

Dusting his hands off on his pants, Kai glanced back towards the water. It wasn't a bad day in the slightest, not with how gentle the waves looked and how the sunlight reflected on the water's surface. It was pretty and almost calming, if it wasn't for the annoyance steadily building up inside of him.

Now normally, he would feel pretty accomplished after stopping a petty criminal like one currently tied to a nearby palm tree, but after accidentally blowing up his bike's engine, his good mood had burnt to a crisp. Sure, he had apprehended the criminal, but now he was stuck on the beach, by an entire ocean of water, until the Bounty could come get him.

"... Maybe we could just walk back home?"

At least he wasn't alone though, so there were little victories. Kai crossed his arms, gesturing at the faint sight of Ninjago City on the horizon. "Hate to be a downer, Cole, but unless you wanna walk for the next six hours, we're not going anywhere."

Cole hummed, drumming his fingers on the handlebars of Kai's bike, little wisps of smoke escaping from the once-burning engine. Nya was gonna kill him for it, followed by Pixal and then maybe even Jay, but Kai could deal with that. Machines were never reliable anyway, even if they helped with coming and going.

Kai plopped down into the sand, resting his chin in his hand. "Sorry for getting us stuck."

"I don't mind," Cole said, his voice even and calm, like being stuck for a couple hours didn't bother him at all. Knowing Cole, it probably didn't.

Kai sighed, glaring out at the water as if it was to blame, already tired of being stuck and waiting to be rescued. It was almost embarrassing, a trained ninja blowing up his own ride. Kai groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

He tensed when he felt a hand card through his hair, relaxed when he recognized the touch, gentle yet so strong. "Cole," Kai mumbled, "what are you doing?"

Cole's hand left his hair, the earth ninja sitting down beside him. "You can't be that upset, right?"

Kai peeked at Cole again, then glanced away. "Maybe I am upset. I mean, we caught the guy, but we're stuck for the next couple hours because I shot a blast of fire at my own bike!"

"Well," Cole poked at Kai until the fire ninja looked up, if only to glare at him. "You could be stranded alone. You've got me."

Cole smiled, and Kai was pretty sure he should have jumped into the ocean when he had the chance because oh no. Kai had told himself countless times that he had no romantic feelings for anyone on his team, but dammit Cole had him in a way he had never felt before. There was just something about the other man that made Kai desperately want to spend way too much time with him.

Kai had a reputation, a persona even, that he was the cool sauve playboy, the one who always got what he wanted and then changed his mind about it later. Besides, the only one who even knew he was pan was Nya, and he sure wasn't about to confess his sexuality to Cole. Especially not if it meant jeopardizing their friendship.

Kai looked away, nodding but not meeting Cole's stupidly pretty eyes any longer. He had a crush, so what? He could get over it. It was no different than any other time he had feelings.

"Kai?"

He would get over Cole and be happy for the Master of Earth if he ever found a nice person to settle down with, he could be happy for Cole and get over his little tiny crush like the adult he was, he wouldn't ruin their friendship. He couldn't.

"Kai, hey?"

Kai looked back at Cole at the sharp sound of worry in his voice. "Yeah?"

Cole did look worried, his eyebrows pinched. "You okay? I mean, if you would rather be alone, I can go watch the guy-"

"No!" Kai snatched onto Cole's arm (why, why, why had Cole felt compelled to remove all the sleeves on his gi?). "I- um."

Kai let go, cheeks flaming. "You can… do what you wanna."

Cole sounded amused. "Are you nervous?"

Kai shot Cole a glare, which only made Cole laugh. "Why would I be nervous?"

Cole shrugged, stifling his laughter. "I mean, I'm a little nervous."

Kai knit his brows, watching Cole closely. He didn't appear to be nervous, but he was rather good at hiding his own feelings. It was something they had all gotten better at over the years and battles, which they probably shouldn't have ever started doing, but Kai sure didn't feel like airing out his traumas. He would rather shut up and talk about something else anyday.

Kai tilted his head, nudging Cole with his elbow. "What's got you nervous?"

Cole shrugged again, not quite meeting Kai's gaze. "Well, we are both just sitting here, on the beach, alone. Feels like a bad movie plot."

Kai's eyes went wide, then he glanced toward the palm tree where the criminal was futilely trying to free himself. "I mean, we do have a third-wheel."

Cole followed Kai's gaze, then snorted. "Yeah, we do."

Kai threaded his fingers together, cringing slightly at how sweaty his palms felt. "So… when you said it was a bad movie plot, was it a romantic movie?"

Cole got quiet suddenly, and Kai cursed himself for ever opening his mouth. Of course it wasn't a romance flick, what was he thinking? Cole didn't like him the way Kai did, he was being ridiculous and putting the very thing he wanted to protect in jeopardy.

Kai blinked away the frustrated tears building up in his eyes. "Never mind, it was totally an action movie. 'Cause- 'cause we're ninja."

"What if it was an action/romance movie?"

Kai snapped his head up, finding Cole looking at him with something like hope burning in his eyes. "I- what?"

Cole's cheeks flushed, and the earth ninja looked away, drawing his knees up to his chest. "Um. I mean, we're ninja, yeah, so action and stuff? But also there's- there's room for romance and hand-holding and- um."

Kai snickered and Cole scrunched up his nose. "I'm trying!"

Kai laughed outright then, falling against Cole's side from the force of his mirth. They both froze, eyes fleetingly meeting before Kai sat upright again, clearing his throat loudly. "Is this a bad time to come out?"

Kai didn't look at his teammate, didn't let him speak. "Because I'm pan. Like, pansexual."

There was a beat of silence, then Cole sighed. "I owe Jay money."

Kai jerked his head back at Cole. "Why. Do you owe Jay money?"

"I thought you were bi," Cole admitted sheepishly, half hiding his face against the crook of his arm.

Kai stared at Cole, unable to find what to say. The earth ninja filled in the brief silence. "I'm- uh. I'm not really sure what my sexuality is yet, but I mean. Guys. Mostly."

Kai bit down on his lip to keep his giggles in check. "Guys."

Cole nodded, his eyes meeting Kai's. "Like you."

Kai's brows shot up and he knew he was blushing something terrible. "I- me?"

Cole nodded again, his own cheeks pink again. "Yeah. You."

Kai swallowed. "Oh. I think you're- I like you, I guess, a little."

Cole snorted, elbowing Kai's side. "You guess, or you know?"

"Man, don't make me say it!"

Cole fell backwards laughing, grinning up at the sky. "You like me too, then?"

Kai huffed, flopping down beside Cole, tucking his hands under his head. "Yeah."

"Yeah."

They drifted into silence, the only sounds their breathing. Kai's heart was still pounding, a roaring sound playing in his ears from how excited he was. Cole said he liked him back, liked him. Kai pressed his lips together, rolling onto his side. "Hey, bro?"

Cole shifted, rolling onto his side to meet Kai's eyes, one of his brows arched. "Bro? Really?"

Kai kicked Cole's shin, ignoring Cole's idginant huff. "If we… you know, like each other. Can we, maybe, kiss?"

Cole blinked, surprised. "I don't see why not? But uh," Cole got shy, cheeks pink again, "I've never kissed anyone."

Kai stared, then snorted, scooching a little bit closer. "So I'm your first?"

Cole nodded. Kai grinned, stopping just before their bodies would be flush. "It isn't difficult, I'll lead."

Cole's lips quirked. "Sure."

Kai cupped Cole's cheek, rubbing his thumb across his cheekbone, smiling when Cole did. Slowly, Kai moved in, barely pressing his lips against Cole's, feather-light and more a brush of air than lips. He pulled away a little, close enough to easily move in and do it again. "Good?"

Cole looked a little lost, and a little miffed. Kai yelped when Cole flipped them, Kai suddenly laying atop Cole, the earth ninja beaming. "Better."

Kai flushed, swatting at Cole's head, cutting off his laughter with a kiss, a real one this time, full on lip-to-lip action. Kai tilted his head a little, moving his lips against Cole's, a mixture of first-time messiness and self-assured techniques. Cole hummed against him, arms tight around his back, holding him flush to Cole, which Kai wasn't about to complain about.

They pulled apart slowly, Kai resting his forehead against Cole's. "So… yeah."

Cole was grinning. "I liked that."

"Good, 'cause I did too. We are so doing that again."

Cole opened his mouth to reply, but clamped his lips shut when a shout sounded nearby.

"I mean, get it I guess!"

Kai shot a venomous glare at the criminal, who didn't look too upset at being tied to a tree anymore. With a sigh and an eye roll, Kai clampered off of Cole. "Sorry for him, I forgot he was there."

Cole nodded, his face painted crimson, sitting up. "Yeah, me too."

Kai stretched slightly, glancing around the beach for any sign of other people. "At least it wasn't the Bounty."

Cole groaned, hiding his face against his knees, making Kai laugh again. Crouching down beside the earth ninja, Kai ruffled his hair. "When did you get so shy?"

Cole shrugged, peeking up at Kai. "I've always been shy."

Kai arched a disbelieving brow, then shrugged. "I'm gonna go find a dorky shell for Lloyd." He walked a few steps, then glanced back over his shoulder. "Are you coming?"

Cole hurried to his feet, pinning the criminal with a glare. "If you move, I will magma punch you."

The man tied to the tree paled and made to nod, then froze instead. Kai snorted, reaching for one of Cole's hands, then paused mid-motion. That might be presumptuous to think they were already at hand-holding. Instead, Kai swung his hands, acting like that was his original plan the entire time.

"Aren't you being a little harsh?"

Cole gave Kai the most done expression he had ever seen from the black ninja. "No, I'm being stern."

Kai rolled his eyes, glancing down at the sand at his feet, skimming his gaze down the beach. "Yeah, sure."

Cole elbowed him and Kai yelped, snagging Cole's arm to keep from falling over. They blinked, meeting each other's eyes before Kai coughed and glanced away. He made to let go of Cole's bicep, but Cole held him in place. "If this is an action/romance movie, we probably should stroll down the beach."

Kai gawked, then burst into delighted cackles, tightening his hold on Cole's arm. Maybe being stuck on the beach wasn't all bad after all.

#jay got his money don't worry #ninjago #my fic #i love them #ninjago cole #ninjago kai #lavashipping #ninjago lavashipping #they are just too cute

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kittydemon9000 · 3 years

Note

so. the ninjago city gardens set has this image

it doesnt have kai. if u were to write anything regarding it, what would u write

So.....holy shit this ask is old. It’s just kinda been chilling in my drafts for literally months so might as well finish it-

okay so before I get into it, lemme just say that sjhdfbvhdvbfs 1) poor Nya and Wu being in the back like that and 2) Zane looks about ready to snap and commit Homicide

Also this is gonna be a sort of Tangled AU, and have Plasma, and I believe this will be my second ninjago au I’ve ever made with romance.....huh.

MOVING ON, so the first thing I see from this is Time Travel Shenanigans

Since the Time Twins never actually were defeated, they’re perfect for this. So let’s say they’re sent far into the past, like far. Maybe a few years after the FSM created Ninjago level far.

However, instead of trying to take over this world instead, they decide they’d rather commit revenge.

So they snatch the Realm Crystal, merge it with the time blades they have, and travel through time, space and the multiverse. They then went and decided to mess with the ninja’s past, specifically Kai and Nya’s because Krux is salty about Ray and Maya and both are salty about the sib’s role in their defeat.

So they go back in time, able to land in a few months before Krux does his thing, and sneak into their house and kidnap Kai while they're sleeping. They wanted to get Nya too but Ray was actually awake and working on something and walked in on them doing it and tried to fight them, but was unfortunately not able to save him.

This ofc, changes a hell of a lot.

For one thing, Ray and Maya move immediately. Like, they pack up everything essential and leave only a note behind saying they’re fine, but not specifying where they’re heading. Because of the fight that occurred, Ray recognized Acronix, realizes the other was probably Krux, add in that they also wanted Nya, and decide to book it to the Monastery since they know Wu will provide them with protection. This results in Wu sending notes to every EM he knows, whether they have kids or not, that Krux and Acronix were back and kidnapped one of the EM’s children, and that it would be best for them to meet up to discuss the possible danger and countermeasures.

Surprisingly, almost every member shows up. The only ones missing are the Masters of Ice and Lightning(they are aware Ice passed it on to someone, but the don’t know who. Lightning died years ago but her husband gave her son away to someone they don’t know and are trying to track them down). Even the EM of Earth showed up despite her declining health with Lou and a little Cole in tow. Most of the other Master’s would be anywhere from their late teens to young adults, with about half bringing the previous Master with them.

Now, Garmadon isn’t fully evil yet, and this new threat definitely helps. Since he has a clear enemy to fight and(mostly) good influences around him that help curb his more malicious tendencies, it slows down the process a bit.

Everyone feels varying emotions that range from sadness to burning rage about Kai’s kidnapping, especially because they think it’s because Ray and Maya were the ones to forge the blades and I mean.....they’re not completely wrong.

So yeah, fast forward a year and the Elemental Alliance is back in business, especially after a few more sightings and fights of the Twins, but unfortunately no Kai.

The EM’s, especially the younger ones but especially Cole(who, excluding Nya, is by far the youngest), become pretty protective of Nya. They teach her how to defend herself and how to use most weapons, as well as training her to be able to use either of her parent’s element. She’s basically their little sister and they would do almost anything to her(canon kai would be so proud)

A few more years pass and they end up finding Zane and Jay, and then Lloyd is born. They’re able to mostly curb Garmadon’s decent into evil, with a mix of magic teas and interacting with the children. I mean, in canon he basically tried to save Ninjago for his son, what would happen if he had 20ish young children/students looking up to him.

But now a quick bounce back to Kai.

The Time Twins keep him hidden far away, deep underground. Pretty much Mother Gothel Style.

But anyway, into the specifics.

Both twins say how they found him passed out in an empty house and decided to bring him here and say there was no sign of his family. At first, he’s convinced something happened to his parents, but as time goes by and he starts to forget, as well as some lying from the Twins he starts to think they left him behind. Eventually he ends up taking a new name as well: Kronos

Krux is extremely distant with Kronos, only really interacting with him during “family dinners” which Acronix insists on.

Acronix usually spends the most time just hanging out with him. Whenever new tech comes out he’ll steal borrow some and bond over it’s uses. Acronix actually gave him his own phone which they keep secret from Krux.

While Acronix could be considered the “nicer” one, I took them teetering on the morality line from canon and cranked it way up. Krux is just flat out abusive and an asshole(when he’s around) while Acronix can keep up his Caring Older Guardian facade while locking Kronos in his room for days and act like he’s just doing it for his own good.

As for what Kronos does in his spare time, it’s a mix of online classes, tinkering with various, but much more traditional, kinds of tech and inventions(like httyd Hiccup style) and watching various shows and movies(that the Twins approve of, of course. don't want him getting any ideas), with occasionally looking on Tumblr, because it was my first(and basically only) social media and what cued me in on some things I thought were normal that weren’t. Am I projecting a bit? Maybe so.

But the slow realization doesn’t happen until around the time of when the pilots would occur.

Also, as for what happens to this timeline/universe’s Krux......he was dealt with.

Kronos actually met Jay a few years prior on the site and started bonding over their shared love for Starfarer. They started messaging, sharing theories and talking about new and old movies/episodes/comics and such.

ScrapTrap listened whenever Kronos would rant about something his “uncle” did that made him upset.

TheTimeTinker was there to comfort Jay when he found out he was adopted and his birth father essentially abandoned him.

Kronos spent many nights awake after conversations with ScrapTrap, his only unfiltered view into the outside world, and would start to think beyond the boundaries the Twins had set for him.

Jay spent many nights awake after conversations with TheTimeTinker, who only made him worry more after every glimpse he had of his life.

Eventually Jay asks if Kronos would like to meet in real life.

Kronos says he’ll ask his uncles.

Which goes......as expected.

There’s a whole “YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS PLACE!!!! EVER!!!!” like in Tangled

He later learns that the two are going to be out for a week.

That night he messages Jay that he’d love to meet him next week.

And so, he sneaks out.

And him meeting Jay goes really well. It’s nice to be able to actually talk to someone other than his uncles and for the first time in a long time he feels free.

They meet up a few more times after that, with Jay even bringing along Zane, Cole, and Nya. He and Nya actually spend a solid minute staring at each other, but neither know why they’re so familiar.

But things don’t stay perfect for long.

One time Jay invites him to Ed and Edna’s and they accidentally fell asleep.

When Kronos wakes up he panics and bolts out, saying he’ll message him when he gets home.

He never does.

He completely disappears from online after that.

This ofc, very much worries Jay, to the point where he brings it up to the others, who after being given the run down on about his own concerns about Kronos’s home life, all agree that’s sketchy as hell.

Uunfortunately they realize they can’t do much. They have no way of finding him, nor can they really do anything.

It’s not until two months later they hear about him again.

The EMs just came back from an attempted raid at what they figured out was the Time Twin’s base. Only it wasn’t just the two of them, there was also a third person. A kid, who matches the age frame of when Kai was kidnapped.

The squad was actually listening in on them when they were talking about it, and learned the Twins gave Kai a new name. Kronos.

Cue a silent freak out from the squad and them getting ready to launch their own rescue mission.

#lost smith au #ninjago #kai #kai smith #krux #acronix #time twins #info dump #jay #jay walker #plasmashipping

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ninjaslegos · 3 years

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Love the idea that the Ninja go on a camping trip, but unknown to them, the camp site is on a Serpentine burial ground. So when they go to sleep, the spirits of the grounds decide to turn the Ninja into Serpentine.

Can we get some headcanons about the reader going along with the Ninja on their camping trip? (the Serpentine they become are up to you)

This one seemed fairly easy to do and I can't tell if it's because I've been doing long oneshots so far and this is my first headcanon in a while? or if I didn't put enough in here. (Hopefully it's the first one, I don't know what other detail to add)

Serpentman or Humantines?

You joined the team because you were really, really good at predicting enemy movements, decisions, and plans. However, you couldn't have have predicted this.

Everything was going fine at first; the tents were set up, everyone ate the delicious burgers Zane cooked over the fire, and now everyone was settled in for the night.

The first one who noticed was Jay, who woke everyone up with a bloodcurdling scream. He ran out of his tent, arms flailing as the others came to investigate.

One by one, everyone else started to shriek and scream as well, staring at each others' serpent bodies.

"Jay, you're a Venomari!"

"Oh yeah? Well at least I'm not Lloyd, he's an Anacondrai!"

Nya and Kai yelled as they looked at what was essentially a mirror of themselves. "You're a Fangpyre?!" They shouted at each other.

"I'm a Nindroid, Serpentine behavior should not affect me."

"Then why are you a Hypnobrai?"

"At least Cole's makes sense, he's a Constrictai."

"(Y/N), how can you be so calm about this? You're a serpent too!"

So after everyone calmed down, which took a while considering the situation, you all agreed to ask the Serpentine underground about what was happening to you all.

They all cringed at the sight of 7 awkward serpents dressed as ninja entering their home.

Skales was able to recognize not only you all as the ninja, but what happened as well. "Did...none of you research the area you were camping at?"

The team turned to you expectantly. "What? It's my vacation too! It was just a nice little spot in the woods!"

He explains that the effect will wear off after 24 hours of leaving the site, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief before being sent home.

Long story short? No one wants to vacation anywhere without full research anymore first.

#ninjago #ninjago cole #ninjago zane #ninjago kai #ninjago jay #ninjago nya #ninjago lloyd #headcanons

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lloydskywalkers · 4 years

Note

Heyo! Hope your doing exceptionally well, wonderful and ur staying safe! I was reading ur little oneshots for the movie! Verse and instantly fell in love! Think u have anymore for Kai and Lloyd? (But u don’t need to listen to this, obviously hehe) Have a splendid day!

ahhH thank you, I hope you’re doing well too!! :D oh man it’s been so long since i’ve written something for movie-verse, but I’ve had this little snippet in my head for a while so I guess it’s as good a time as any (and it is, of course, about kai and lloyd bc when is it noT)

it’s a little different than what i usually write, for movie-verse? but i hope it fits the bill! (takes place pre-movie, btw)

Of all his friends, Lloyd thinks Kai is most like the sun. Not just for his codename, and the enthusiasm with which he brings fire to the team, metaphorically and far too often literally, but for how bright he is. Kai reminds Lloyd of the sun at full force, strong and blazing and staunchly refusing to let anyone hide from his warmth. An endlessly combusting ball of stubbornness and passion.

Kai also reminds Lloyd of the sun in the way that he possesses about the same amount of brain cells the sun does, which is zero, because the sun has no brain — much like Kai.

“Hey, ru—de, ow, stop—”

Kai’s petulant response strangles off in cracked pain as Lloyd hushes him, simultaneously pulling the alcohol-soaked cloth from his arm with a sympathetic wince.

“Sorry, sorry,” Lloyd murmurs, wringing the edge of the cloth. “But I’ve gotta — it’ll get infected, if you don’t—”

“Nah, s’okay,” Kai says, breath hissing out through clenched teeth. He gives Lloyd a wavering smile that could almost be encouraging, were he not bleeding over Lloyd’s faded bedspread. “Just caught me off guard, I’m good now. ‘Sides, the — the stitches are gonna be worse, so—”

“It won’t be that bad,” Lloyd promises him, cleaning the rest of the deep slashes that run across Kai’s arm as quickly as he can. The lower ones aren’t so bad — he could get away without stitches, maybe. It’s the uppermost one that scares Lloyd, cutting deep enough into Kai’s skin to pose a threat. And Lloyd has no intention of leaving Kai anywhere near in danger, especially with the reason he’s hurt in the first place.

Lloyd swallows against the thick lump that suddenly forms in his throat, trying to banish the flood of emotions that have been rising since the battle against his father’s forces earlier. Surprise, shock, gratitude—? A swirling maelstrom of a deep-seated kind of aching warmth Lloyd is utterly unfamiliar with. It leaves him off-kilter, and words don’t come easily as they usually do.

Not that words ever come easily to Lloyd, but normally he isn’t quite this stuttering. Maybe. He hopes not. Maybe he’s just hyperaware right now, after everything, and he always sounds this embarrassing.

“I promise,” Lloyd continues, yanking himself from his thoughts as he busies with the needle. “I’ve got a lot of experience, and I’ll be gentle.”

Kai watches Lloyd threading the needle with a thinly-veiled fear, but he nods, the bravado Lloyd’s more familiar with making its way across his face. “Nice,” he says. “I trust you, Dr. Lloyd.”

Lloyd’s hands falter with the needle for a moment, before he resumes sterilizing it, ducking his head. Kai sounds like he means it — Kai sounds like he means everything he says, but the way he says trust hits differently, for Lloyd.

They’ve only been a team for few months, now. Not very long at all, to form any kind of trust in the son of your greatest enemy. Lloyd’s been going to school with some of the same people since kindergarten, and they’ve never looked at him with anything kinder than hatred, much less trust. And yet Kai is here, offering him his bleeding arm in Lloyd’s tiny room, trusting him to repair the damage he only took because he was protecting Lloyd.

Lloyd doesn’t understand. He doesn’t — people don’t — but his team—

They listened to him. Actually listened to him, to Lloyd. They actually listen to him in general, have since they were all thrown together in this odd little grouping, but it hasn’t quite hit home in the way it did tonight, when he’d snapped orders at them in barely-restrained panic, Kai’s blood staining his fingers as he’d staunched the knife wounds meant for him.

They hadn’t flinched back at his raised voice. Lloyd never raises his voice — he’s learned to keep it quiet, soft, unassuming. Even the slightest slip of frustration is enough to send anyone around him murmuring in suspicion, eyes narrowing and hissed whispers of just like his father filling the air.

Lloyd’s voice had been sharp and strained, barking across the rooftop, and they’d listened. No one flinched back, no eyes widened in fear — they’d just listened. They’re still listening, carrying out Lloyd’s orders without question, and it’s — it’s dizzying, if Lloyd had to put a word to it.

Cole and Zane are taking care of clean-up — something Lloyd will have to thank them for later, profusely. Neither were particularly happy about letting Kai out of their sights, but Cole and Zane are better at keeping each other steady than anyone else. It was the right call, Lloyd knows it was. Hopes it was.

But Lloyd hasn’t been having much faith in his calls, tonight. Not after Kai went down.

He swallows, focusing on the sounds reverberating from behind his closed door. Nya and Jay are talking with his mother, Nya’s louder tones easier to hear as she laughs. Lloyd knows her well enough to catch the strain in it, but he knows it’ll fool his mother. They’re distraction — Lloyd’s house was closest, and he’s got the best supplies stashed there. No one questions why he’s the one with the fully stocked medical kit, but Lloyd suspects they’ve all drawn their own conclusions.

He wishes they’d believe him, when he says it’s because he’s worried for them. He grew up with Wu as his uncle, who picks fights on a daily basis — with Morro as his cousin, who picks fights on an hourly basis. Lloyd knows the importance of having the good kind of medical supplies.

He finishes prepping the needle, squeezing Kai’s wrist briefly in warning. Lloyd’s not usually a tactile person — not that anyone would let him be — but he knows Kai soaks up touch like a starved sponge, and Lloyd’s desperate to give any kind of comfort he can before he starts with the needle.

Kai swallows, fixing his eyes firmly on the faded glow-in-the-dark stars plastered across Lloyd’s ceiling.

“Okay,” he says, his voice tight. “Bring it on.”

Lloyd swallows, steels himself, and sets the needle against his skin. Kai flinches at the first prick, eyes squeezing shut briefly, but otherwise he doesn’t move, jaw set stubbornly as Lloyd moves quickly. For his part, Lloyd keeps his eyes locked on the stitches, his hands steady. For all that Lloyd’s made up of bouncing nerves half the time, his hands rarely shake. Never when patching wounds up. He’s always been proud of how steady he can hold a needle, and tonight is no exception.

It’s the least he can do.

Kai suddenly tenses up, a broken-off noise strangling in his throat. Lloyd’s heart twists, but he stays steady, rallying himself. Conversation — Kai likes talking, right? Distraction, he can do that.

“So, um,” Lloyd stutters. On second thought, he’s awful at small talk. But — for Kai. “The way you took down that last guy was, it was really cool. Where’d you learn that?”

Kai bites his lip, exhaling shakily before he answers. “I train too, you know.”

Lloyd’s mouth quirks, despite himself. “Not like that.”

“What, a ninja can’t — can’t get creative,” Kai replies, through half-gritted teeth. Lloyd doesn’t say anything, but Kai rolls his eyes, continuing. “Fine. When I was younger, I ah…might’ve taken a few dance classes. For Nya! ‘Cause I couldn’t let her go alone, y’know, but they were — they were kinda fun, I guess, and maybe they slip into fighting, sometimes.” His cheeks darken, and Lloyd bites back a quiet laugh.

“Nothing like Cole, obviously, ‘cause he’s an actual dancer, but — that’s where I got it from.” He pins Lloyd with a glare, that’s somewhat dimmed by the scrunched expression of pain on his face. “Tell anyone and you’re dead though, okay?”

Lloyd hums his agreement, too focused on the stitches to reply immediately. After a moment, though, he speaks up again. “I did some ballet, when I was little.”

“No way,” Kai says, sounding delighted.

“Yeah, way,” Lloyd says. “I’ve heard from a very reliable source that dancing backgrounds are useful, with ninja stuff.”

“Very reliable meaning your uncle,” Kai grins.

Lloyd shrugs. “Maybe,” he half-smiles. Kai suddenly sucks in another pained breath, but to Lloyd’s relief, it’s likely the last one. He finishes off the stitches with a well-practiced hand, snapping the end of the thread and exhaling in relief.

“There. All done.”

Kai’s eyes widen. “Seriously, already?” He glances down at his arm, his other hand moving up to touch the stitches. Lloyd smacks it away, glaring at him.

“Don’t touch. You still have to watch out for infection. I’ll text you instructions for taking care of it, and everything. Just don’t do anything, ah…”

“No ninja-ing?” Kai finishes for him, crestfallen.

“Probably a good idea,” Lloyd says, apologetic. “But it’s not too bad. Shouldn’t take long, and you can be out, uh, ninja-ing again."

Kai is quiet for a moment, regarding his stitches. Then he turns to Lloyd, who is immediately staggered at the bright smile that stretches across his face.

“Cool. Thanks, Lloyd. You’re good at this.”

Lloyd can’t answer, his throat burning. He forces the welling moisture back, looking away. Kai’s only hurt for him, and that is layered with so much more meaning than Lloyd can comprehend right now.

“No problem,” Lloyd mutters, focusing instead on the voices outside his door in an attempt to find footing again. He can hear his mom laughing at something Nya’s said, open and relaxed in a way his mom rarely is. Lloyd’s heart twists into knots.

He doesn’t deserve them, any of them. Not really.

If Kai reminds Lloyd of the sun, then the rest of the team reminds him of stars. All bright and shining, bursting with warmth in their own way. Maybe not quite at the blazing heat that Kai does, but Nya is a north star if Lloyd’s ever needed one. Jay’s a blinking constellation, scattered stars that form a complex whole much larger than you’d thought. Cole’s the kind of star you see first pop up over the horizon, blending with the oranges and purples of the sunset, like a painting you’d see in soft watercolors. Zane’s the early-morning kind of star, the ones that stay stubbornly after the night’s left, dotting the pale morning with a calm steadiness.

Lloyd would be a planet, he supposes, caught in faithful orbit around the five people who have somehow, for some reason, given him a chance. It’d be generous, though. No, Lloyd is content just to be a moon — with no light of his own, reflecting only the brilliance others give him the best he can.

Kai’s finger taps the edge of his forehead, snapping Lloyd from his thoughts, and he blinks in confusion.

“Lost you there, again,” Kai asks, words mangled through a yawn. “Where’d you go?”

Lloyd shakes his head, turning his attention back to the bloodied thread leftover in his hands. His stomach turns, and he quickly sets it aside. “Just thinking.” He pauses, momentarily lost for words. He settles for jerking his head toward the window, where the smoke trailing from their hard-won battle is still visible against the dark sky, and gives Kai a wry smile. “How much do you wanna bet the cheerleading team comes up with a new song tomorrow?”

It’s been an inside joke for them, the ridiculous songs Chen and his gang keep coming up with to throw at Lloyd, and normally it gets a laugh from Kai. This time, though, Kai is silent, his eyes searching as he stares at Lloyd. Lloyd shifts under the attention, caught off-guard again. He doesn’t know what kind of look this is, that Kai’s giving him.

“They shouldn’t talk about you like that,” Kai finally says. His voice is quiet, but Lloyd can spot the brewing anger in it. Kai’s always got anger to spare.

“Sticks and stones, remember?” Lloyd shakes his head. He’s learned, after a while, that anger changes nothing. “Words will never hurt me.”

“Words hurt when people are throwing sticks and stones at you while they yell about your dad,” Kai grumbles.

“No one’s thrown rocks since second grade, actually.”

“Hm.” Kai’s tone is a mix of thinly withheld anger and mild amusement. Lloyd tilts his head, confused, and Kai gives a huff, anger tugging loose.

“Y’know, people say that if kids throw rocks at you in second grade, it means they’ve got a crush on you.”

Lloyd knows well enough it’s a joke, but he flushes red anyways, heat spreading across his cheeks. “Yeah, sure,” he stammers. Kai laughs at his reaction, though, the odd kind of anger departing, and Lloyd feels he’s found his footing again.

They’re quiet as Lloyd finishes cleaning up the medical supplies, Kai nodding sleepily on his bed while Lloyd carefully washes the needle in the bathroom sink. Maybe he can convince his mom to let Kai spend the night, he thinks. Jay and Nya , too — their apartment isn’t very big, but it’s awfully late to make them walk home, and Lloyd is fine with taking the floor, if he needs to.

Lloyd nods to himself, resolving to ask her once he’s finished hiding the evidence. His mom’s been so thrilled about him having people over at all, he can’t see her saying no. A smile pulls at his lips as he listens to the conversation outside his door again. Jay’s rambling on now, bright and excited without any of his usual reservation. He feels a pang, wondering if Jay’s the same as him — wondering if they’re all the same, playing at muted caricatures of themselves, too fearful to let whatever lies beneath shine through.

He wonders what it means, that they’re the ones with the city in their hands, that weight on their shoulders. Wonders what it means, that Lloyd feels safer with bullets strafing the air around him and his mask on, than he ever has with it off. That Green Ninja will always, always sound better than Lloyd in his ears.

“Hey, uh.”

Lloyd starts at Kai’s voice, twisting the sink off as he turns to face him. Kai looks half asleep, but the smile he gives him is bright as ever.

“Thanks, seriously. Not just for this, but for looking out for us. You’re a good friend.”

Lloyd’s heart skips a beat, his brain latching onto the word friend and holding on tightly, tucking it somewhere safe inside his chest.

“So thanks, Lloyd,” Kai yawns, barely awake at all now, but still stubbornly clinging to the threads of awareness.

Lloyd’s got his own thank you to give back, twisted and strangled behind whatever lump’s formed in his throat, but Kai’s snoring before he gets the chance to say it. So Lloyd tugs the edge of his comforter over his friend — his friend — instead, and runs the words over in his mind again and again, like a treasured line from a book.

On second thought. Maybe Lloyd isn’t so bad. He’s only ever liked his name the way his mom says it, without any of the snapping, harsh emphasis others give it. In others’ mouths, Lloyd’s name is a curse. In his mom’s, Lloyd’s name belongs to a person.

But he thinks, maybe, he likes the way it sounds when his teammates use it, too.

#answered #ninjago #tlnm #lloyd garmadon #kai smith #slight blood tw #i just. have a lot of feelings about friends #and a lot of thoughts about how the movie!ninja put each other on pedestals #not in an inherently bad way but #i think they all think so much of each other #they forget they're human #and that leads to fallout #anyways! movie bros T-T #my fic #masterofswag213

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greenygreenland · 4 years

Text

Sink or Swim: Kai x Reader [kinda angsty]

-tbh i had a tiny crush on Kai growing up

-i still swoon over him when he's cool but like, lloyd has stolen my heart

-you all live in yang's temple still

-as a note, i write for female readers because uhhh yeah plz don't be mad at me ;-; (and either way, you can always change the words around in your head if it bothers you)

Summary: Kai needs help. You're there for him, catching him before he sinks.

Kai's got Lloyd, but who's got Kai?

Ninjago was filled with a variety of perils. Some were easier to see, such as destruction of any population within the premises of Ninjago city. Other times, it was minuscule, like a speck of dust. If you looked hard enough without blinking, you could see it. But most times it was invisible.

The sun was bright today, shining past the swiftly moving clouds as you clashed under its heat. Sparks flew as your katana slammed into Cole's, who skillfully parried your blows. You readied another combo, twisting to the right and faking a slash before spinning and striking to the left.

"Cole look out!" shouted Kai. Cole wasn't fast enough, and you knew it was because he wasn't used to using a katana. His hammer lay on the platform leading inside, right by Jay's side under the sunshine.

You suddenly realised Cole would be split in half if you didn't stop. But how could you when the inertia practically sent you flying towarss him? "Cole--!"

Clang!

Kai parried the attack. He hit your blade with so much force that it was sent flying across the courtyard, thankfully, clattering harmlessly on the ground. You heaved out a harsh sigh and slapped your knees. "That was close. Sorry Cole." He chuckled, giving Kai a good slap on the shoulder.

"For once our Hot-Head wasn't distracted by his 'oh-so-perfect' looks." Cole said. "How did you do that so fast?" Kai sheathed his sword with a shrug. It was odd to see him so quiet, especially around this time in the day. His expression remained relaxed, but it was void of its usual smug smirk. "I don't know, I just improvised."

You can't help the frown settling on your lips. There was an edge to Kai's voice, as if he had just returned from an unseen battle between life and death. He looked normal, yet the way he forced out a small laugh made you cringe.

"I'm going inside, think I might shower." he abruptly announced. "Don't train too hard or you might bake in the sun!" You watched as he fiddled with the strap on his sheath, twiddling it and running it between his fingers. He caught your stare and flashed a fleeting smile your way, yet it didn't feel genuine. "Kai--"

He pretended not to hear you and rushed through the temple doors. Your frown deepened. "He looks upset." Jay rested his cheek in his hand with a snort. "I'll say. He looked like he was thinking hard about something."

"But what?" Cole inquired with a sigh. "Nothing's been happening around Ninjago, shouldn't he be happy about it? He can play video games all he wants now, or, I don't know, talk to Skylor on the phone? Morro's gone and Lloyd's fine now." Zane raised doubtful brow. He took a seat by Jay and leaned his head back against one of the supporting beams. It was an odd sight to see everyone so deeply in thought again, especially since none of you should have been deeply in thought in the first place.

"Lloyd has not fully recovered." Zane notes. "He suffers from mental trauma and is regaining his strength as we speak." Nya hummed in agreement. She set her weapon down with a thoughtful nod and leaned against a supporting beam. "I don't know about you, but he seemed kind of sad. Why don't you talk to him (Y/n)?"

"Yeah, you're his girlfriend so you guys share a special connection." piped up Jay. You cam't deny that. Your relationship with Kai was special, so he told you certain things no one else had ever known about him. Whether it be about his past, or even what he dreams for the future, you knew it all.

Well except this.

You stood up, ignoring the low cracks from your aching body. "I'll be back." You pulled open the temple's doors, gently shutting it behind you as you surveyed the vast room. The main hall was empty, save for Sensei Wu who sat at a table drinking tea. He turned to you, eyeing your troubled expression knowingly. "Kai is in his room." he simply stated. You smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you Sensei."

You sprinted up the stairs, caring not if you skipped the creaky steps or walked right over them. It was quite tranquil in the halls of the quiet temple, yet somehow, it made you uncomfortable. "Kai?" You stopped in front of his door. "Kai--"

Sniffling. That was the first thing that caught your ears. Your fingers paused on the door handle, slipping past the cool metal as you continued to listen to the sounds. You knew what crying sounded like, but this? It was earth-shattering. The way he cried sounded exactly like raw agony. It was painful to listen to, yet you couldn't bring yourself to walk away.

If Kai was suffering, you had to be there for him like all the times he had been there for you, or Lloyd, or Nya and Jay and Zane and Cole.

Your fingers wrapped around the door handle. You gently knocked and peeked inside. He sat on his bed with his back facing you. His katana lay on the floor instead of of by his bed or next to his pillow like he usially did.

"Kai?" Your voice came out as a gentle whisper. "Are you okay?" His crying ceased so quickly that if you hadn't been standing outside listening, you would have thought everythimg were your imagination.

"Yeah." he steadily said. "I'm okay. I just needed to take a break after that spar. It got really intense." He laughed. It wasn't a happy one. If you knew what it felt like to have your organs ripped out, you'd describe it as listening to Kai fake his laugh and fake his happiness. He put on a brave face for the world, and perhaps that was because he knew people relied on him to step up when Lloyd couldn't.

You opened the door a little wider and let yourself in, softly closing it behind. "If something's wrong Kai, you can tell me." He sniffled quietly. "No, I'm fine." He laughed; you didn't miss the quiver in his voice. "I'm just a little tired."

"No, it's something else. I won't judge you, promise."

Kai sniffled and grabbed a tissue from his nightstand. He blew his nose with a shaky breath and tossed the tissue in the bin. For a good minute, he sat there in silence, slowing inhaling and exhaling rattling breaths. You made your way over to him and took a seat at the edge of his bed. He kept his back towards you as he sniffled some more, so you sat there, watching his shoulders quiver.

Slowly, Kai entertwined his hand with yours. He gave it a good squeeze, as if reassuring himself you were still there. You didn't want to say anything to him yet. If you did, you were sure it would break his already fragile tranquility. Thankfully, he made the first move.

"I know you wouldn't leave me," he began, "but sometimes I can't help worrying. What if we go on a mission and none of us make it back? Lloyd almost died, Cole's a ghost.... What if something happens to you? Or--or Nya and Jay or Zane?" He let out a rattling breath that spoke of all the battles you both endured. It was hard to believe you both survived every single one of them.

"Kai, we've lived this long." you said. "Why not longer? And even if one of us does die, life will go on. It always does in Ninjago, and it blooms again into something new." You squeezed his hand. "You're thinking about your parents too."

The quiet Kai stayed in was enough of an answer.

"I understand it hurts. You know, my parents died when I was very little. I don't remember how they looked like, but I remember what I felt. They made me so happy. It was short, but I found it again in you and the others. Even if something disappears, it's never truly lost." You smiled even though Kai would never see it. "Lloyd's still here because you saved him. None of us are going anywhere for as long as we can help it."

Kai's shoulders slumped. A sigh left his lips and he finally turned to face you. What strikes you the most about him isn't the puffiness under his eyes, or the bags and crinkle in his brow--it's the life that's been sucked out of his expression. His eyes were hollow, as if someone had completely wiped the emotion of happiness from existence. The deep frown tugging at his lips is even worse. It's thin, tight, and quivering.

"I-I'm sorry..."

You placed a hand on his cheek. "Kai." It's all you can muster, a name, a look of sorrow, and worry. Howw had you not seen this? How had you missed something so plainly put?

You gently pulled him closer, wrapping your arms around his warm body as the rain fell from his eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I should be there for you, but I didn't notice. I love you though and I'm here now." you gently whispered.

"You're not alone Kai. You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. We're all here for you and no one is leaving." His cries started out soft, but with each word that left your mouth, his whimpers grew, gaining and gaining in volume until a heart-wrenching sob ripped through his throat.

Tears gathered in your eyea and you allowed yourself to cry with him. It hurt to think about losing anyone, it hurt to see your boyfriend so battered, so beaten and defeated. What cure could you offer to remedy his pain you shared?

There was no answer to that. And so you sat there, keeping your arms tight around each other as if either of you would disappear. Right now, it was sink or swim. You had to fight the ache and push forward, even if it felt like you were both drowning.

Please don't forget to reblog so this can reach more people! Thank you all for reading!

#ninjago zane #ninjago jay #ninjago cole #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago x reader #legoninjago #ninjago wu #ninjago kai #kai smith #kai x reader #lego ninjago x reader #sorry i can't add read more #i'm on mobile

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keity-devil · 3 years

Text

Original, this one was Not planed to be a ship fic, But, because I like the Destinyshipp, [and someone really enjoy my last one (@breathlessmorro, love you enjoy it.)], I edited and made it.

Emo-Bom

"Morro, come on." The Fire Master almost begged the Wind Master to come and train with him.

Kai didn't understand why he was doing this. For what? Anyway it was going to be a short workout- oh, that's why. He wants to end this. He might want to see Skylor later, maybe. But not Morro, who was looking at him unfriendly from the couch.

"I'm not going anywhere." Morro said sharply, sinking deeper into the soft cushions of the couch.

"Sensei said. His orders. Not mine."

Morro was silent. Kai knew why he didn't want to train, especially with him. He was afraid that the deed of the past would be repeated. Morro remembered the fire as it cornered him like a deer surrounded by the sharp fangs of ferocious dogs of prey, how the fierce hot fire grew around him, the sparks leaping like crazy in the air, his throat drying, his eyes it becomes a cold and gray waterfall, his body trembling, burning-

"Come on," Kai's voice brought him out of the gray memories. "I'm not going to use the fire on you. We're not going to use our powers for this training, okay?" Kai had reassured him in a calm tone, the same tone that calmed Lloyd after a nightmare.

Morro sighed heavily and annoyed. "Fine.." He said firmly and got up from his seat. He was sorry he was leaving the warm, soft place where he had sunk and made a small bed. He had a plan to take a nap there for the rest of the day, but it looks like the Universe has other plans for him this day. "Let's get this over with." Morro had passed Kai as he spoke, his hands beside him.

Kai looked back at Morro. When he first trained with him, alone, he used his firepower against him. When the fire completely surrounded Morro, he fell to the ground, trembling and breathing hard, very hard. He was actually panicking, he had gone into a panic attack, a big one. Then he saw him for the first time in a panic of pure fear, the first time he learned of his fear of fire. He knew water was, but the fire, he didn't expect it.

Kai and Morro had begun training with swords. None of them used their powers, as was their understanding. It was just the two of them. Zane, Jay, and Pixal had gone shopping for materials for the inventions and were going to make a short stop at Borg. Cole, Lloyd and Nya went shopping for food. And at the Monastery, Kai, Morro and Wu remained. Wu told Kai he was coming out in a few minutes.

Kai was about to fall due to Morro's hard blow, but he mobilized quickly. When Wu showed up, Morro changed, and Kai noticed that quickly. It wasn't that hard to see his facial expressions change, especially when it comes to the former ghost around Master Wu, otherwise it's hard to tell what he has or if something really bothers him.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked in a whisper.

"Yeah.. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Since Sensei came out, your mood has kind of changed. Not that you've had a good one before, so you know."

Morro tensed harder. "Doesn't matter." And with that, he had managed to tear him down with a sharp gust of wind and sword.

Kai fell on his back, letting out a squeal of pain. Morro was scared, he didn't want to be so harsh with him or use his powers. He let his emotions dominate him again.

"Easy!" Kai snapped at him.

"Sorry." He helps him get up. "I didn't want to use them, it was an accident."

Morro glanced at his former and current father. He saw that he did not take his eyes off the cup of hot tea, as the little steam rose, until you could no longer see its tip in the sky, which held his gently between his fingers.

"Talk to him." Kai said suddenly to the brunette's ears.

"What the?! No!" Morro raised his voice reluctantly.

"Yes! I can see that- "

"Kai, Morro." Wu's voice was calm. For Kai, he was calm, neutral, but for Morro, it was awful. "Training is over for today. For both of you. The rest of the day is free, you can do whatever you want."

Wu slowly rose from his seat, taking the cup of tea with him. Morro let out an annoyed sigh and threw himself on the floor when Wu was out of sight.

"I'm a huge disappointment..." He murmured, letting his hands fall on his lap and the hair in his face.

"What are you talking about?! You're not! You can't." He couldn't believe what he was hearing, especially from Morro's mouth. Kai did not consider Morro a person to give up at all. NOT AT ALL. He fight him. He had seen that special gleam in his eyes. Why would he give up now? Why? It didn't make sense.

"I am. You've seen it too, I'm a disappointment to him. I'll always be one." He didn't trust himself. Was scared. Frightened that he didn't live up to Wu's expectations, that he wasn't good enough to be his student and... son. That he's that little boy lost again with no purpose in the world.

Kai got angry. Yes, he doesn't trust him completely, but he can't stand to see him like that. He knows that Morro is good, he is good and talented. He is gorgeous even when he gets angry. And that smile or grin that made him jump out in the past, and now it was daylight and- What are you thinking about now?

He stood at his level, put a hand on his shoulder, and Morro raised his head.

"Listen here, Emo-Ghost-Boy.- "

"Emo-Ghost-Boy?!"

" -Sensei Wu doesn't think you're a disappointment. He's himself... your adoptive father! He wouldn't see his own son as a disappointment. He told you you weren't one in his eyes and soul, why not Does that get into your head once?"

Morro lowered his head again. "Every time I look into his eyes.. I remember his look from long ago. How they looked at me with disappointment and hope that I would be the Green Ninja.. his light... And.. I was fixed on it."

"You're fixed dumb."

"Tell me something I didn't already know, Cherry Bom.- "

"Cherry Bom?!"

" -Please." He said sarcastically, but he still felt bad.

"Hey," Kai had begun. "Let's.. find something to do. Something funny, relaxing. You're too tense and stressed. That doesn't do for you any good."

In Kai's eyes, Morro was always like that. He didn't think he'd ever seen him relax- Oh, yes. Once time. When he slept. Then he was calm, as if he had nothing, absolutely nothing sad on his soul. Too bad that wasn't true even when he was awake.

"There is no relaxation where I come from." Morro said, his eyes fixed on Kai's.

"Don't be like Lloyd with this! Come on." It helps him get up. "We're going to change, and we're going somewhere to waste time. What do you say?"

"I say I'm going crazy with you today." On the one hand, he liked what he heard. A break wouldn't hurt.

"To know." He put his hands on the back of his neck, turning his back on the brunette, and his steps toward the entrance to the Monastery. "I'll knock on your door in 15 minutes. I hope you'll be ready then."

Morro looked at him. He could feel his stomach empty. Some of Kai's words made him wonder if he was doing it on purpose or not, if he hated it or not. He runs past the Fire Master, knowing he won't be ready in 15 minutes. Kai chuckled when he saw his reaction.

------

"Aaaand, where are you taking me??" Morro asked him lightly and curiously.

Morro hadn't been to town before, well, he was, but only with Lloyd or Jay. And that was for shopping. But to sit and admire the landscapes around him, no. This outing in the city seemed interesting to him. He was curious how it would be.

"Do you have a specific place in mind?"

"Not."

"Okay. Then stay calm, I can handle it."

The lights in the city captivated his eyes. The buildings were so big. Their architecture now was so different from when he was small. They were new, modified, modernized. It took Morro a while to get used to the technology, but with the help of Lloyd, Jay and Zane, he did it. He still had small question marks, but he was doing slowly. With small steps.

His dark green eyes, with a slight glint of light gray through them, saw something furry on all fours, stepping not so far away from them.

"Oh! A cat!!" Morro drew the cat quickly to him, beginning to stroke it when it reached his feet.

Kai stared at him confused by the brunette's unexpected reaction to the speechless little creature. "It's... a street cat, Morro. He has fleas and who knows what else he has." Kai told him. Apart from Lloyd, he did not think he would see anyone rejoice so much at the sight of a cat. It seems that Morro is a cat person.

"So, and? It's a cat!!" He smiled wide with joy at seeing and touching one. You could see the sparkle of a child in his eyes. "Can we keep her?? I promise I'll take care of her!! Or he's a He.. But I'll take care of her or he every time! Please!"

"Uh... If Lloyd failed to persuade us to take one, you won't."

"But I'm not asking them for this. I'm asking you for this."

Kai felt the fire in him grow. He did not imagine that he would hear these words from Morro's mouth. Now he was even more confused about his feelings.

Kai was watching the street cat after Morro. They both stared at him with wide eyes.

"You look so much like that cat."

"Hm?"

"You're both staring at me in the same way." Morro's childish smile appeared, and Kai could feel the redness appear on his face, forming the red of a rose in his youth. "Did W-Wu ever let you have one when you were little?"

"N-no..?"

"Then neither do I."

"Oh, come on now!!" The cat ran away from the brunette's hands. "Nooo! Kittyyy!! Come baaack!" He returned to Kai. "Look what you did! You scared the cat."

"Me?! You scared her! You didn't keep it anyway."

The brunette stood up. "It doesn't matter, what's the next point??"

"A- I didn't get to the first one either. You were distracted by the cat!"

He blinked twice. "Oh. Okay. Then let's go first."

Kai sighed, but smiled.

The way they were going now, Kai knew him. He did it many times. Or to calm/sit alone, to eat, to see Skylor.

"And, we are here!" Kai was sitting in front of a restaurant.

"A.. noodle ..restaurant?" Morro said in an unimpressed and confused tone, why his eyes see.

"Mhm. You'll love their food. Oh, I have a girl friend here."

Morro looked at him for a long time. "Friend friend? Or girl friend in the sense of just friends?"

"Just friends. Why?"

"Curiosity." He opened the restaurant door and held it open until Kai entered.

"Thanks."

The Master of the Wind could feel and see how the eyes of the people inside were on him. He wanted to put on the hood of his coat, to leave the next second, but he stopped, knowing that someone would ask him questions.

'All is well. Pretend I'm not here. Pretend no one sees you. It's just you and Kai somewhere, spending time together with... a girl you don't know and you know for sure she'll take all your light and talk to Kai more and he'll ignore you and leave you- '

"Skylor!" Kai fiery voice destroyed his range of thoughts, but it made his heart beat faster and was afraid that what he sensed would become real.

A girl with red hair in a ponytail, warm eyes, orange clothes, and a kitchen apron over them, had smiled at them- simle at Kai.

"Hey Kai. I didn't expect to see you today."

"Neither do I. Oh, I want you to meet someone." Kai pulled Morro close to him. "Morro, she is Skylor. Skylor, he is Morro."

"I'm glad meeting you, Morro." Skylor smiled friendly.

"As I am." Morro smiled at her as friendly.

'I already dislike you.'

"I brought him to relax a little. Can you serve us your best, Sky? Please."

"If you pay." She smiles.

"You know I do."

The redhead giggled and went to make the two portions. Morro and Kai sat in their chairs. Kai kept telling him that the food here was wonderful, and about Skylor.

It wasn't long before the food arrived.

"Two servings of the best I served."

"Thank you very much, Sky." Kai thank her, and pay, as promised.

The brunette was almost staring at the noodles in front of him. His hands had slowly picked up the chopsticks, and he had slowly begun to eat. The warm taste of the noodles had warmed Morro, the taste of the warmth of the food had reminded him of his first hot meal the day Wu had taken him under his wing. He didn't know if he disliked Skylor or not, but he certainly loved the food here.

But nothing good lasts, at least for the former ghost it didn't last. Morro was getting bored, beating his sticks in the empty bowl. Kai kept talking to Skylor. His suspicion had come true.

'Can she talk a lot more?? Is she so a extrovert person? My head already hurts at how much she talks. If only you could talk something I understand and know! How can I get out of here? Hmm. Do it myself or do I take Kai with me? Well, I need him. I don't know the way home. I didn't pay attention. A bonus point for me on the 'You're Not Careful' list. Hmm.. Aha!'

Morro pulled out his phone. "Oh, Kai." He put on his most surprised, harmless, innocent voice he has. "I got a message from Lloyd. He says we have to go home. It's late however."

Kai looked at him intently after checking the time. "Oh, you're right. It's quite late." He returned to Skylor. "See you Skylor another time, thanks for the food."

"The pleasure was mine, Kai." Morro stood up first. He couldn't wait to leave. "And to meet you too, Morro."

Morro smiled falsely. "As I." And he leaves, just as the smile leaves.

------

There was a rhythmic knock at the Chosen One's door.

"Open." Inside, the Master of Fire had appeared. "Kai, hey. How was going out with Morro?" Lloyd smiled at him, one that made Kai skin rise.

"You say it like it was a date or something."

"If you like him," 'And he likes you.' "I can call it like that."

"You scare me with that smile. And it wasn't a date!" He felt red and ashamed that Lloyd could read him like an open book. "And if it was a date- "

"It was one."

" -Why did you send a message to Morro that we should return to the Monastery?"

"I didn't send him any messages. Nobody did. I think he lied to you. Have you been with anyone?"

"We went to Skylor's restaurant."

"Ooooh." He had taken a candy. "Then it explains why he did it."

"Why?!"

"I won't tell you that. I'll leave you alone to find out. Or you can find out from him if you ask him." He told him, shifting his attention back to the comic and candy.

Kai looked at him one last time, then went to Morro's room. He had knocked quickly on his door, receiving a confirmatory answer. Inside, Morro was wearing a cream sweater, and some black pants. His hair was caught in a mess with a hair clip. Some threads had fallen out. He was so nice to Kai's eyes and soul. He hadn't seen him look like that before, but he thought he looked really good.

"Kai? Are you... okay? You've been staring at me for a while."

"Morro, why you look so- why did you lie to me that Lloyd didn't text you to come back?"

'Focus, Kai. Now it was Not the time to say nonsense.'

"I wanted to get out of there." He answered quickly, in a neutral tone.

"Why?"

"Because it hurt my head how much she talked and she took you! I knew this was going to happen. That after you meet her, you'll put me aside."

"Are you... jealous?" Kai asked the question. That was the only word that had crossed his mind. Others did not exist even after he asked the question.

"Maybe! I do not know."

A smile spread around the Fire Master's face.

"Why.. are you smiling like that?" Morro asked him confused and a little scared/worried.

"Just don't.. you like me, do you?"

"Eh!? Nonsense! How could I do that?!"

"With the red face you have now I can."

"It's like yours is not."

One minute, two, three and four.

The embarrassing silence between them was great. It was as if the redness on their faces intensified, for Kai on his ears. Morro couldn't make a small breeze to cool the atmosphere. He had the impression that the heat of Kai's fire was turning the room into a tiny sauna.

"You like me?"

Morro's eyes widened. His shoulders had dropped, staring at Kai.

"I don't know.. I never know how I feel. If I really like you, I don't really know that." He answered honestly, still with emotions, he didn't know why either.

"Would you like to try?" Kai asked him with low hopes. He didn't think he would ever like Morro, but never say never.

"Maybe... If you don't tell anyone about it, I agree."

"I promise." He looked out the window of the room, which was half open. The sky was dark, tiny stars illuminating the sky. "I think it's time for a well-deserved sleep."

"Mhm. You know, it was fun today. I.. relaxed. Thank you."

"The pleasure was mine. Good night, Emo-Ghost-Boy."

"Good night, Cherry Bom."

He closed the door to Morro's room, leaving for his. He closed his own door, screaming for happiness in a pillow.

----------

Long. ... I don't have any excuse for this.

Maybe the next one will be a first kiss, idk. If you guys want, of course. Or something else.

#ninjago #morro #ninjago morro #kai #ninjago kai #destinyshipping ninjago #destinyshipping #my written #angst #fluff #is the vast mini fic I ever made #mini fic

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goldenavenger02 · 1 year

Text

it was war, it wasn’t fair

Lloyd knew that his vision was dimming and that he couldn't stop shaking, so all he could do was force himself to squint at Nya as he rasped out, "Find Master Wu," before letting his eyes shut and his body hit the stone floor with a loud 'thud' filling the room followed with screams he didn't hear.

Takes place after Crystalized

‘I’m getting too old for this.’

Lloyd knew that was a ridiculous thought since he was still a few years shy of twenty, but the ache in his bones was bad enough that he just wanted to take a few days and do nothing but lay in the dark.

Whenever he got this tired, it seemed like all of his old injuries had to make a painful reappearance in the form of throbbing pain that radiated in his muscles and joints; the broken ankle from what was supposed to be the final battle, the sprained wrist in Prime Evil’s eye, the plentiful injuries he had gotten fighting his father in Kryptarium Prison and the broken ribs from when the monastery door had fallen on his chest, it all came rushing back to a point where he could barely function through it.

But, just because he was running on nothing didn’t mean that he could take a break. He, along with Nya and Skylar, were the only ones who still had their powers and the members of the Overlord’s council were still at large minus Aspheera and Mister F and they had to be tracked down.

After all, Lloyd had fought against the Overlord three times in his life, each time resulting in some sort of twisted outcome. It was likely that a council member would try and resurrect him yet again, especially since Pythor had done it before.

‘And I’d be okay with never fighting him again.’

Which brought him to where he was; pulling his green suit on after finally moving into his room in the rebuilt monastery. While it would make sense to put on the gold and green one since Nya’s matched, it made his stomach twist with memories that seemed like a lifetime ago as well as very fresh memories of turning into something that terrified him to his very core.

‘Nothing good comes out of me wearing gold.’

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sharp knock on the door, revealing Jay standing against the door frame with his familiar grin on his face.

“Hey, Jay,” Lloyd managed to smile around the pain, “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to check out your room. Kai’s convinced he has the biggest one.”

“It can’t be bigger than his ego,” Lloyd responded while tightening the belt around his waist, wincing briefly as it pressed against his skin, “any updates on if they found any members of the council yet?”

“Not yet, but PIXAL, Skylor, and Nya have been working overtime on it,” Lloyd couldn’t help but sigh. He knew that some of the members had been hiding in plain sight while the others patiently laid low in Kryptarium prison, but he also assumed it would be easier to track at least one of them down, “Lloyd, you guys are gonna find them. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Lloyd nodded even though he didn’t believe Jay’s words, but also knew that he was doing what he could since he and the others had lost their abilities, “I’m gonna go see what I can do to help.”

Jay nodded and the two walked out of his room, splitting up as Jay went towards his room while he went down into the renovated and rebuilt underground base, trying to keep the throbbing pain to himself by biting back the pain in his throat.

‘I’ll tell them after we stop the remaining council members.’

Luckily for him, Skylor, PIXAL, and Nya were all engrossed in the monitors so they didn’t even acknowledge his presence until he spoke up, leaning against the wall for support while crossing his arms across his chest to appear more casual. “Have you three gotten anywhere yet?”

“Negative, but we will continue looking,” PIXAL explained while keeping her eyes glued to the screen.

“We have Cole and Zane searching in the Bounty, and Kai is searching in one of the noodle delivery trucks throughout the city, so if they are in the air or on the ground, we’re gonna find them,” Skylor added while continuing to look on a different set of monitors.

Lloyd nodded in agreement, his body shaking against the wall. His throat was practically on fire now and his vision was starting to tilt with dizziness.

Getting sick from stress was somewhat normal for him after the second fight with the Overlord, but the onset was worrying. Usually, it was a matter of days as his adrenaline ebbed away, but this…

‘This is way too fast.’

“Lloyd, are you okay?” Nya’s voice broke through his fuzzy thoughts, but when he tried to speak, his tongue stayed heavy, so he just uncrossed his arms, and gripped the wall, starting to lose the battle for consciousness, “Oh, you look awful. Are you getting sick?”

Lloyd knew that his vision was dimming and that he couldn’t stop shaking, so all he could do was force himself to squint at Nya as he rasped out, “Find Master Wu,” before letting his eyes shut and his body hit the stone floor with a loud ‘thud’ filling the room followed with screams he didn’t hear.

…

Cole had never made such a sharp U-Turn in the air before; he was used to operating vehicles on the ground after all, but when Nya’s panicked voice came through the comms and demanded that the two of them returned to the monastery as soon as possible, he knew that there was not a moment to lose.

Nya was similar to him in the way that she kept calm until things escalated badly, and with how scared she had sounded, the worst possibilities sprang to mind for him and started to swirl in his mind whilst he piloted the ship.

‘A member of the Crystal Council attacked the monastery and someone got hurt, or Garmadon turned on us again. Lloyd turned into an Oni and got completely out of control.’

The bad possibilities continued to swirl as he anchored The Bounty, only letting himself take a quick breath of relief when he saw that the monastery was still completely intact from where it had been rebuilt just a week before.

“Cole, PIXAL’s signal is coming from the living area.”

Cole nodded and the two of them slid down the anchor’s chain before sprinting into the monastery, but just when he started to hope that it was a minor incident was when they stopped in the living room to find the entirety of the ninja team either twitching where they sat or pacing around the room.

‘Everyone but Master Wu and Lloyd.’ Cole’s stomach dropped when he took in everyone’s worried faces that looked up to make eye contact with both him and Zane behind him. Nya was the first one who stood up to hug them, her eyes red with tears.

“Nya, what?” Cole questioned when she moved away from Zane to wrap her warm, tight arms around him, her head resting on his shoulder as a sob escaped her, “what happened? Where are Master Wu and Lloyd?”

But her sobs only intensified in his arms, so he held onto her and tried to keep any sort of assumption to himself about what was happening while also trying to calm his racing mind.

‘Lloyd probably just hid an injury from the battle, he does that. Or maybe he got sick from the stress, that happens too. He probably just got caught by Nya and she’s over-tired from regaining her powers. But he’s fine, she’s fine and we’re all fine.’

Everyone was looking at him with a mix of concern and aching like they wanted to tell him what had transpired but couldn’t find the best way to break it to him gently like he would crack with the knowledge.

‘Which is ridiculous. I don’t crack or break under pressure. I always hold us together until we find the solution.’

Nya didn’t let go until the door to Lloyd’s room opened and Master Wu walked out, a glimpse inside of the room showed that Misako was hovering over Lloyd’s bedside before he shut the door behind him, leaving Cole and the others waiting for him to speak with bated breath.

“I must admit that I was naive in my hopes that you four would quickly regain your elemental powers. I was also naive in the fact that I was sure that it would not have this effect on Lloyd,”

Wu stopped speaking to take a long, deep breath, “your abilities are connected to Lloyd’s to the point where when Morro had control of him, you did not have control of your powers.”

“We’ve lost our powers before and it didn’t do this to him,” Kai responded, which is when Cole realized that he had all but chewed through his bottom lip in his frantic pacing.

“You were the only one who lost them to Aspheera. Zane was the only one who did not have control of his powers as the Ice Emperor. The only other times that you two have lost all of your powers was when Morro used Lloyd’s body, which inadvertently delayed something like this from occurring, and after he defeated the Overlord the first time.”

“When he was the golden ninja and had all of our powers.” Jay supplied and Cole watched as Wu nodded, but his stomach was still full of knots and he was still extremely confused as to where all of this was going so he finally asked the question on his mind.

“Can someone please explain what is happening?”

The room grew quiet for a few somber moments and Cole started to assume that the only way he would get the answer was if he begged, but before he could speak, Master Wu gave him the words that hit him in the chest like a ton of bricks.

“Because his elemental powers don’t have you four to connect to, Lloyd has grown very ill, very fast. I don’t know how much longer he has, but as of now, Misako thinks that the best plan is to get him to the temple of light and restore his golden power. And I can’t help but agree with her on that.”

“He doesn’t want that power,” Kai tried to argue while Cole’s stomach started to twist with dread and anxiety about the state of Lloyd’s health and how the way that Wu was speaking about it was all too reminiscent of his mother, “it practically turned him into a target for the overlord last time.”

“But it might be the only way to save his life, unless you just got your powers back,” Cole managed to retort with a heavy tongue before approaching Master Wu with a singular question, “When do we leave?”

“As soon as we can get him on The Bounty,” Wu affirmed before turning to the group, “Zane and Nya, chart a course to the Dark Island. Jay, you and Kai lock everything up and grab the essentials for the flight.” The five of them went off in their separate directions to get the ship ready to go.

“PIXAL and I will watch over the monastery and keep an eye out for council members,” Skylor piped up from where she had been standing in the same space as Kai, “I can’t guarantee that I can stop them, but at least we’ll be able to hit the ground running when you get back.”

“Thank you,” Wu nodded with appreciation before turning to Cole, “I want you to help Misako and me get Lloyd on the ship. I know that without your powers, you don’t have your regular level of strength but-”

“I’m still the one who does the most strength training outside of ninja training, I got it, Master Wu,” Cole assured the older man before asking, “Is he conscious?”

“He’s been in and out since he collapsed downstairs,” Wu explained as they made their way back to Lloyd’s room, “I gave him some healing tea to try and keep him lucid which has worked so far, but…” Wu trailed off as his fingers grazed the knob, “I don’t know how long we have before we lose that.”

And with that somber statement, he twisted the knob and opened the door, letting Cole into the dimly lit room before shutting the door but all Cole could focus on was Lloyd’s sweating forehead with his eyes squeezed tightly shut in pain, his breathing tinged with a light wheeze.

All Cole wanted was to break out of that room and break apart a punching bag as he punched down the painful memories of losing his mother to her illness, watching her fall apart with every day that passed; but he has been trusted by Wu to take care of his nephew and he would be damned if he broke that trust.

So when Wu gently squeezed Misako’s arm and told her that they needed to pack, he immediately took over where she had been and wiped away some of the beads of sweat from Lloyd’s forehead, his temperature radiating through the washcloth; the only thing he could equate this too was when he had gone after Garmadon in Kryptarium.

He hadn’t even been able to help care for Lloyd when he was unconscious, his stomach in too many knots to care for his friend before the attack had begun. But he was here now, and he had to stay present. He couldn’t ignore it this time, not when his life was at stake.

“Cole?” Lloyd’s weak but coherent voice forced him to look down at his squinted eyes and Cole had to swallow his tears back.

“Hey, bud. We’ve got a plan to help you feel better, you just gotta hang in there. Okay?”

“Y-you’re getting y-your powers back?” Lloyd’s voice was shaking with the long sentence but hopeful nonetheless and Kai had explained how Lloyd didn’t want his golden powers back so he swallowed back his honesty and let the white lie slip from his teeth.

“Yeah. We just gotta make a road trip to do that and you gotta come too.”

Despite how much pain and how tired the green ninja was, he still managed to add a little bit of his snark in his response, “Not walking right n-now.”

Cole couldn’t help but smile as he used the now lukewarm cloth to push Lloyd’s blonde hair out of his eyes before responding, “Well, once your uncle gives the word, you need to be prepared to live down the embarrassment of me carrying you bridal style, punk.”

“I h-hate you,” Lloyd responded with zero bite in his voice and Cole knew that he wasn’t serious as he smirked back, his heart feeling less heavy for a brief moment as the door squeaked open.

“Love you too, buddy,” he looked up to see Wu give him a nod and Cole turned to Lloyd as he walked in, “Your uncle’s gonna help me get you up. Are you ready?”

Lloyd’s nod was almost non-existent due to the lack of strength in his body which forced Cole to push back the tears as he and Master Wu slowly pulled Lloyd to his feet, his arms wrapped around their shoulders and his legs shaking under his weight; once they got him to his feet, Cole managed to lift him into his arms, feeling his hot cheek against his chest as his wheezing breaths came out rapidly from the overexertion and he squeezed his eyes shut again.

Cole forced himself to take a deep breath to try and calm himself as he adjusted Lloyd in his arms, but his body was concerningly light in his arms and the pale-gray tone to his skin made bile rise in his throat. He had already lost his mother this way and barely survived. If he lost Lloyd too…

‘Push it down, we’re getting Lloyd help,’ Cole told himself as he took the steps to The Bounty that were slow enough to keep Lloyd steady but fast enough that he didn’t feel like he was wasting time, ‘he just needs his golden powers back and then he’ll be fine. Lloyd is not going to die.’

With those attempts at reassuring thoughts, he stepped aboard The Bounty and followed Wu to the small room below deck where Lloyd had stayed when he was brought in by the five of them all those years ago. He slowly lowered him down onto the makeshift bed, making sure that his head and neck were supported by the pillows and only spoke when Lloyd opened his eyes again.

“That sucked.” He said through pained, gritted teeth while his breathing started to even out.

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have to move you again till we get there,” Cole explained as he squeezed Lloyd’s outstretched hand, “you just rest. Your uncle and mom are gonna be right here the whole time.”

Lloyd nodded and closed his eyes, but Cole didn’t move from where he was standing until Lloyd’s breathing slowed enough for him to know that he was asleep and when he finally did move, it was straight to the on-deck training course to work out some of his frustrations in the fact that once again, he was completely useless in helping.

He found the remote easily and clicked the button to replace the deck floor with various pieces of training equipment but immediately fixated his site on the worn punching bag that was off to the left; despite never needing them before, he slipped on the gloves and let his hands adjust to the foreign feeling before he started to hit the bag.

‘The last thing we need is someone else getting hurt.’

Cole had lost track of time as he punched, each hit rippling off of the bag into a very mild kickback and his forehead dripping with exertion but this level of intensity felt normal like his powers of the earth were still flowing through every fiber of his body and everyone was more than okay; he needed all of his brain power to focus on where his punches were hitting, so he was unable to dwell on just how bad things were and how grave of a situation Lloyd was in.

It wasn’t until he was broken out of his focus by Kai asking if he needed a spotter that he was sure that he could hear sounds outside of his own grunts and the sound of his gloves hitting the bag.

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Cole agreed, wiping his forehead on his arm as Kai grabbed onto the bag, allowing him to hit it harder without it swinging back to hit him, but he should have known that the silence wouldn’t stay for long.

“You’re okay with this plan?”

“I’m always on the side of keeping people alive, in case you haven’t noticed,” Cole explained as his temple pounded just once to remind him of the period where he hadn’t been, “you’re not?”

“The saving Lloyd’s life part, I’m all for that but…” Kai trailed off and looked at the ground with a face that easily showed guilt.

“You think we’re painting a target on Lloyd’s back.”

“He already has to deal with the Oni thing and the fact that he’s Garmadon’s son. Not to mention, he gave up that power a long time ago. I just can’t help but feel like he’s going to hate us.”

“He’ll understand that we’re saving his life,” Cole stopped punching to meet Kai’s regretful gaze, “that’s what matters most. He doesn’t want the powers, I get that, but we have to put things off until tomorrow to survive today,” Cole explained, waiting until Kai nodded to continue punching, “besides, he was still really young back then. Maybe he’s changed his mind.”

…

In his brief moments of coherent thoughts, Lloyd knew exactly what the others considered the solution and he hated the idea.

Yes, being alive was the goal, he understood that but the fact that the only way to achieve that was to revive the powers of his grandfather inside of him, the powers that had caused the Overlord to hunt him down and subsequently nearly drained him of all his power, he wasn’t exactly happy about that.

That didn’t even scratch the surface involving the fact that he had foolishly ignored the training from his father and how he had failed to hide his disappointment when he gave them to the others.

‘I fail too often in green, the only thing that gold will do is propel that further. That’s when people get hurt, that’s when people die.’

Despite his swirling thoughts, he knew it would be impossible to get any of them to budge on their decision to take him back to the Temple of Light. He was just going to have to force himself to accept that he would regain the title of the golden ninja.

…

Kai felt sick to his stomach. He had ever since he had sped back to the monastery when Skylor had told him what had happened over the comms. Boarding The Bounty made his vision swirl, flying through the air made his stomach turn, and watching over Lloyd in the small room below deck gave him the feeling of bile in his throat.

‘I can’t lose him. We’ve been through too much for me to lose him,’ Kai thought to himself as he held Lloyd’s hand gently in his, running his thumb over his worn and scarred knuckles, ‘this has to work.’

He knew it was selfish to focus on his feelings in these circumstances, but at the same time, he couldn’t stop himself from hating everything about the plan; he had multiple candid conversations with Lloyd in the past about how he no longer wanted to be associated with being the golden ninja and at the same time, he was forced to watch him fade slowly as they flew across the ocean to have a chance to reach the temple of light in time.

“You can’t give up, Lloyd,” Kai said aloud even though his eyes were shut and his breath, although wheezy, was light, “ninja never quit and I really need you to take that to heart right now.

Kai wasn’t surprised that he received no answer except a slow, wheezy exhale. What did shock him, however, was the crash of thunder followed by the ship tilting harshly to the left, forcing him to grab Lloyd with one hand and the wall with the other, his teeth gritted together until the ship straightened.

“Keep the ship steady!” He shouted upwards towards his sister, only to hear her muffled insistence of Jay acting as a lightning rod much to his own loud protest that eventually forced Lloyd to blink up at him.

“Hey, buddy,” Kai greeted with a much softer voice despite Jay’s distant cursing, “how’re you feeling?”

He watched as Lloyd took a few moments to swallow and look around at his surroundings before finally making direct eye contact as he spoke, “Like shit.”

Kai couldn’t stop the brief smile from spreading across his face as he smoothed Lloyd’s hair down where the energy surrounding them slowly started to make his hair stand up on end while explaining, “We’re in a storm right now, but Jay’s being a handy lightning attractor.”

As if on cue, an angered shout rang out from above deck followed shortly by another crash of thunder, but all Kai could focus on was the fact that Lloyd’s face was slowly but steadily turning as green as his suit.

‘He’s gonna barf.’

“Okay, buddy, let’s get you above deck,” Kai insisted as he reached around and pulled Lloyd to his feet by his armpits, forcing himself to block out the pained groan as he rushed up the stairs while supporting his weight, just barely helping Lloyd stand with his head across the railing before he felt his body stiffen followed by pained reteching, “just get it out. I’ve got you.”

Kai heard Jay shout out in disgust from where he was positioned at the highest point of the ship; in any other situation he would have laughed at his friend’s disgust but right now, he was just holding tightly onto the back of Lloyd’s shirt to keep him from falling over the railing.

Kai wasn’t sure just how long he was holding on tightly to the youngest member of their team but eventually, his body relaxed and he practically leaned against him as he brought him back below deck, but he was just glad and shocked that Lloyd was still conscious as he lowered him back down.

“We’re going to the d-dark island, a-aren’t we?”

Kai took a deep breath as he dampened the cloth and started to wipe the sweat off of Lloyd’s brow before responding, “Your mom doesn’t have any other ideas and I don’t like this any more than you do, but if it helps you-”

“Not mad,” Lloyd cut him off as his eyes started to flutter shut out of exhaustion, “just have to g-get used to the i-idea.”

Kai nodded in response as Lloyd shut his eyes; he wanted to keep talking to him and to get to the root of how he felt about it but at the same time, he knew that it would just waste the extra strength that he had.

‘There will be time for talking after this nightmare is over.’

But when Lloyd asked with his eyes still closed, “A-are you sure this i-is going to work?” Kai had to scramble for words that he didn’t know were true.

“Of course, it will. Your mom’s pretty smart, so if she says it’ll work, then it’ll work.”

His reply stayed on his mind even when Zane came down to stay with Lloyd so he could stretch his legs; it didn’t take him long to find Nya, steering The Bounty with one hand and eating a granola bar with the other.

“Where did you get that?” Kai questioned as he leaned against the wall, trying to force some of his stress out of his mind even though he couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation with Lloyd.

“I always keep this room stocked with snacks,” she explained as she took the last bite, “the storm is starting to clear up. We should be there soon.”

Kai nodded, his thoughts running wild with anxiety. All he could hope was that this would work and when he felt as though he couldn’t hold it in any longer, he couldn’t stop himself from asking his sister, “You’re sure this is gonna work?”

“It has to,” she affirmed before clicking on the microphone button, “hey, you can probably come down now, Jay.”

“Thank goodness,” Jay’s voice echoed through the ship, “I hate being the lightning rod, you know.”

As if on cue, Kai looked through the window to see a flash of blue climb down from the mast, practically illuminated by the break in the storm clouds. “I just…even if it works, he’s not going to be happy about this.”

“Yeah, I know,” Nya nodded after flipping The Bounty to autopilot, “but we don’t have another choice. It’s been weeks and you four have no signs of your powers coming back. Without them, he’s at an imbalance.”

Kai sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face, “I’m just worried he’s going to hate us for doing this to him.”

He looked up when he felt the firm but gentle pressure against his shoulder that could only be Nya’s hand and looked up to make eye contact as she spoke.

“I would rather deal with Lloyd’s temporary anger than lose him, even if he can turn into an Oni.”

“So would I,” Kai agreed with zero hesitation before the weight of the stress returned as he looked out onto the sky which was growing clearer and clearer with every second spent in the air, “I just hope we’re not too late.”

It didn’t take long for them to approach the island after they made their way out of the storm and Kai was glad that his sister had found a way to anchor The Bounty close to the temple, but he knew that was mainly so they didn’t use any of Lloyd’s strength that they didn’t have to before they got inside.

He followed Nya outside into the humid air as the group made their way onto the closest semblance of a path that there was in the curves of the mountains that led to their destination; the sunrise shone on his face and he couldn’t help but think that in any other situation, the view was gorgeous.

The sound of Lloyd’s wheezing breath was what brought him back to the present and he quickly turned his head to see him standing on shaking legs with his arm wrapped around Jay’s shoulder.

“You’re sure you want to walk up the mountain?”

“I’ll be fine,” Lloyd insisted even though the sunrise made his face look paler with each passing moment, something that Kai was unable to hide because despite how sick he was, Lloyd still managed to roll his eyes as he spoke again, “if I can’t, I’ll let you guys know. Promise.”

Kai slowly turned away and started the ascent up the mountain; he wanted to believe Lloyd but given just how sick he had been in the past twenty-four hours and his ever-present stubborn streak, it was nearly impossible.

‘I guess I have to rely on Jay to keep him in check.’ He realized before a second thought came into his mind, ‘This isn’t going to go well.’

…

Jay did his best to hold up the weight on his shoulders as they began the climb up the somewhat pathway.

Even though he was tired from the lightning that had coursed through his body amid the storm, he couldn’t let any members of his team down.

He could feel Lloyd’s body shake with every step that he took, which made his stomach turn with anxiety, but he didn’t know how to step in and tell him that he needed Cole to carry him, so he just held on tighter to Lloyd’s left side to keep his steps in tune with his own.

“I'm fine, Jay,” Lloyd insisted as he stood up straighter when he caught onto Jay’s tightening grip, blinking back visible beads of sweat that dripped from his forehead out of his eyes, “just tired.”

“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be walking,” Jay insisted as they stayed at the tail end of the group no matter how fast they walked, “you’re going to need your strength.”

“I said I’m fine,” Lloyd insisted again, seemingly forcing his voice to come out clear without the shake despite the chills that racked against his body, “I can walk.”

Jay wanted to find a way to convince him otherwise, but the words refused to come to mind, so he just continued to hold tightly as the ascent continued higher and higher.

As the climb continued in silence, Jay felt the subtle shift in the humidity that felt like a bad omen; but it wasn’t until they were just a few feet from the steps that he felt the weight he was carrying suddenly go lax against his body.

“Lloyd!” He shouted, gripping tightly onto the youngest member of the team to keep him from fully collapsing while lowering the two of them to the ground; he blinked his eyes open a few moments later, but Jay’s nerves were still unsettled despite the reassurances.

“I’m fine, I just blacked out for a few seconds.”

“You’re done.” Cole’s voice came from behind him and Jay was glad he didn’t have to fight the signature Garmadon stubborn streak on his own this time.

“But we’re almost there!”

“Yeah, and you almost just fell down the mountain,” Kai argued back as he approached Lloyd’s left side, “this whole thing is to save you so you need to get over your embarrassment and let Cole carry you the rest of the way.”

“Not embarrassed,” Lloyd muttered as he let Cole reach over and pull him into his arms before they started to catch up with the others, leaving Kai and Jay at the back of the group.

Jay stood up and wiped the sweat from his face, noticing Kai’s face melted from determination to worry as he glanced at the rest of them before they started walking.

“I’m worried too.” Jay finally spoke up to break the silence and distract himself from the bundle of nerves that his brain had become.

Kai was silent for a few minutes, but as they arrived at the steps, he finally whispered something that chilled Jay to the bone despite the heat.

“I don’t think he’s being stubborn, I think he’s trying to stall and find another solution.”

“Wait, he doesn’t want to do this?”

“None of us do,” Kai elaborated, whispering as he walked towards the fire symbol on the floor, “but we can’t lose Lloyd.”

Jay swallowed as he walked towards his spot on the floor, the lightning symbol practically glowing under him as it welcomed him back for the first time since Lloyd granted them their powers for the first time.

He had been all for the plan at the monastery, but now that they were there and the event was about to take place, he was starting to have second thoughts.

‘After all, he doesn’t want to do this.’

But he also knew that with just how sick Lloyd was, he was only getting worse and they had run out of time for any other options when they knew that this one would work.

So he stood up straight in his spot against the pillar and when Lloyd looked at them one by one to receive confirmation that it would work, he gave him a nod full of false confidence but not due to the legitimacy of the plan, but due to how all of them, especially Lloyd, would handle the aftermath.

Jay was lost enough in thought that he had barely noticed that Lloyd had managed to gather enough strength to launch himself off the wall and hit the bell before nearly collapsing in the center under it.

The loud clang rang through the entire temple, making his ears ring slightly, but what shouldn’t have caught him off guard was the elemental weapon that formed in his hand, shining with its sharpness in the light that shone around Lloyd.

He knew that for this to work, he had to use the powers that emerged through the blade on the light; despite his worry, he did what was expected of him and watched as the room was practically filled with white light for at least a full minute before it finally dispersed and for a brief moment, he let his lungs release the breath of relief.

Until Lloyd hit the ground with a thud and didn’t move, forcing Jay to rush forward in a sprint.

…

The world around Cole went quiet, the screams of panic falling around him in deafening silence, as his legs collapsed under him and his chest throbbed painfully.

The tears welled up in his eyes as he looked directly at Lloyd laying on the ground, pale and lifeless and he knew that deep inside, he had failed.

…

Kai couldn’t breathe.

He knew he was, as he got down beside Lloyd and held his wrist in his hand, frantically calling out to him as he checked for any signs of life, but his own emotions held onto his throat tightly to keep him from drawing in any air.

He could feel Nya’s hand on his shoulder, a shuddering gasp coming from her chest, but he couldn’t look back at her. Looking back would be giving up.

‘And I am not giving up on Lloyd.’

…

Surrounded by golden light, Lloyd could feel his illness leave his body; any damage that had occurred as a result repairing itself in the brightness and every single ache and pain leaving his body resulted in the feeling of rejuvenation.

It wasn’t until he looked down at his floating body surrounded in the bright light that he saw his green suit around him being replaced with golden thread that he fully processed what was happening and his mind filled with both panic and relief.

‘Mom’s plan worked.’

He wanted to yell out to the force behind this that he really didn’t want the powers, but when he opened his mouth, nothing but a singular pitiful squeak escaped before the light faded, resulting in the world going black around him.

His heart started beating way too fast as he started to fully freak out in the darkness but he forced himself to close his eyes and take a long deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, his vision was blurry but he could see the outlines of everyone surrounding him, staring at him from above.

‘I’m alive,’ he assured himself before slowly lifting up the hand that wasn’t wrapped tightly in Kai’s grip, the powers that had once been green now glowing gold and as everyone cheered around him and held onto , the only thing he could feel was a sense of dread, ‘ and I’m the golden ninja again.’

TWO WEEKS LATER

“Lloyd.”

“No.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Can I get you out of this room?”

“Probably not.”

“Are you gonna try and stay here forever?”

“It’s looking like a good idea right now.”

“Lloyd, I will drag you out of bed if you don’t roll over to look at me.”

Kai watched as Lloyd weighed the possibilities in his mind before finally giving up with a long drawn out sigh and rolled over to make eye contact with him; he expected to see the glints of red that had always been settled in Lloyd’s eyes replaced with gold and in hindsight, he should’ve expected to see the tear stains on his cheeks, but he couldn’t stop the harsh intake of breath when he saw them.

“What?” Lloyd’s voice had some bite in it, but he also sounded too drained from the events of what had happened on the island to actually force any actual anger in it.

“PIXAL got a hit on Vangelis, Nya and Skylor are getting ready to help bring him into custody,” Kai explained before sitting on the end of the bed next to Lloyd’s feet, “they sent me to get you.”

“They should go without me.” Lloyd spoke after a moment of silence before flopping back over to avoid eye contact with Kai.

Kai bit his inner cheek to keep him from lashing out at Lloyd; he knew that he was angry at the situation and was most likely worried about innocent people getting hurt again but at the same time, Skylor and Nya needed all the power they could get.

“I get that you don’t want these powers,” Kai sympathized as he craned his neck to try and get Lloyd to look at him, “but we need to get these guys taken down, which means that we need everybody on board. We can try and figure out how you can transfer the powers to us safely afterwards.”

“What about before that?” Lloyd questioned, “what if I hurt people when I go after the remaining counsel members?”

“We can keep you in check over the comms, and Nya will be there-”

“You don’t get it, Kai!” Lloyd shouted suddenly while sitting up, his blanket cascading down his torso and settling over his knees, “you weren’t there when I turned into that…that thing. I had no control, I couldn’t stop shooting the Overlord. If that crystal hadn’t been there…”

“You’re scared that you wouldn’t have shifted back.” Kai spoke as it clicked in his mind and what Lloyd said afterwards made the explanation behind the fear of regaining his abilities.

“I was the only gold Oni that I’ve seen. These powers…I fight against that side of me every single day and I can barely hang onto myself sometimes.”

“You think the abilities are going to make it harder for you?”

“I know they will,” Lloyd agreed before looking down at his empty palms, “I know that the Overlord was a bad guy, that Vangelis is a bad guy, but I don’t know if I can control myself long enough for myself to process who is good and who isn’t when I’m like that. I don’t want to hurt any more people.”

Kai swallowed harshly when Lloyd finally slouched and let his head rest against his chest, seemingly trying to find any sort of comfort just by laying against him.

“I wish I could tell you that no one is gonna get hurt, but I think you’d know that I was lying. So I’m gonna ask you a question instead, is that okay?” He waited for a nod before speaking, “are more people going to get hurt if you go out there, or are they going to get hurt if Vangelis wreaks havoc on an entire village?”

Lloyd sat up once he absorbed what he was saying and rubbed a hand over his face before he twisted in a beam of golden light emerging in his suit that had been transformed before their eyes in the temple and put his pajamas in the laundry basket; he turned back to Kai with a smile.

“Thanks for knocking some sense into me.”

“Anytime,” Kai affirmed as he stood up before setting a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll be on the comms if you need me.”

He couldn’t help but smile as he watched Lloyd grin before heading towards the base to meet up with his sister and girlfriend while he thought to himself. ‘He’s going to be okay.’

#lloyd garmadon #kai (ninjago)#cole (ninjago)#jay walker #nya (ninjago)#wu (ninjago)#skylor (ninjago)#zane (ninjago)#pixal (ninjago)#post crystalized #hurt/comfort #emeto #angst #family #friendship #ninjago #my writing

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